TUE?
by doinstuff
Summary: Danny's clone is physically almost exactly like him, but that doesn't mean that her future is the same as his own. Since Danny has successfully avoided his horrible future, there is no ultimate enemy save for the one stuck outside of time...or is there?
1. Chapter 1

**TUE?**

Chapter One

* * *

Danielle stopped to take a breath. She leaned against a random rock formation and laughed breathlessly, for she had been on the run for the past few hours now. She looked behind her to make sure that she was alone, and took the time to calm down. Her breathing slowed, but she was still shaking with laughter.

"We showed him!" she said triumphantly to herself.

Danielle was running from an encounter with Walker. She and her friends had pulled a terrible prank on him, opening the gates so that all the prisoners in his prison were free to escape. He had chased her, yelling something about her 'annoying punk brother' and how both of them were going to pay and whatever. But she had been faster and he was soon lost in the crowd of his own guards and fugitive criminals. The friends she had just met- the ones that had helped her with the prank had all split up, all of them running in different directions. It was an everyone-for-themselves sort of prank and she knew she probably wouldn't see them ever again, but really, it made no difference to her. She had just met them. And now, here she was, in the middle of who knows where in the Ghost Zone. She sat down and ran a hand through her hair, contemplating what to do next.

Like her 'cousin,' Danny Phantom, and her father, Vlad Plasmius, she was half ghost. But unlike the both of them, she didn't have a home. She was free to wander both the real world and the Ghost Zone and she was proud of it. She was always very happy- she was a happy person in general. She could make friends in both worlds easily and everyone who met her could tell it just by seeing the smile that was always on her cute little face. But behind the smile, deep down, she could feel that something was missing.

And everywhere she went, she saw it. Everyone else seemed to always have someone. In the real world, she saw families and friends. Always together. In the Ghost Zone, she saw couples, alliances, or ghosts that were too wrapped up in their own obsessions and misery to care that they were alone. It made her jealous and the more she saw of it, the worse her jealousy got. She wished that she, too, could have a family or a friend who she could be there for or could be there for her. But she wouldn't get her wish unless she asked Desiree, and she knew from experience that Desiree would only make her life worse than it already was.

For now, she was content to wander aimlessly around the Ghost Zone (for some reason, she had always like it better here than in the real world.) Every day was the same routine. She would make ghostly friends here and there, they would have a little fun, and then she would move on, in search for something more. Really, she wanted more than _anything_ to be in Danny's place, but she could never impose herself on Danny or the Fenton family. And she would most definitely not be going back to Vlad. Ever. Especially after what he tried to do to her last week. He could have stabilized her, but instead, he had let her fall apart until she was nothing but ectoplasm.

She had to admit, however, that there was a plus side from last week's encounter with him. Now that she was stabilized, she didn't need anyone's help to do anything. And she thought that she had even managed to make Valerie see that not all ghost were evil. Well, really, Danny had convinced her. But whatever.

She sighed. Where to, now? Like the real world, there were hot spots in the Ghost Zone. Places where she could meet new people and form new alliances. While Danny was forced to make enemies in the Ghost Zone because of his responsibility to Amity Park, Danielle didn't have to. And since the Ghost Zone was her home, it would definitely be smarter to make more friends than enemies. Unfortunately, most of the time she was judged by her looks. Since she looked like a relative of Danny, she usually stayed away from Danny's enemies and hid out in the deeper parts of the Ghost Zone. Not that he was any less famous there, it was just that there were some parts of the Ghost Zone where its denizens were more friendly and much more open to her. She didn't really like being known as Danny Phantom's 'clone twin sister', anyway.

Her decision made, she stood up and began flying in the direction of the nearest hang out.

---

Clockwork wasn't particularly busy, he never was- he had all the time in the world on his hands, after all. But it still didn't detract from the fact that he didn't like the Observers one single bit.

"I don't have time for you," he said, turning away from the ectoplasmic screens to face the two Observers behind him. One was dressed in white robes, the other in red.

"You're not serious," the first one stated lamely. "You have all the time in the world."

The second Observer in white robes wasn't as stupid.

"If you don't have time, then _make _it," he said harshly and decided to cut to the chase. "I expect you know why we've come."

"Of course I know why."

"Then you know that this is an exact repeat of… the last time." The Observer's eye moved towards a shelf in the corner where a somewhat beat up and dented thermos was standing alone. Clockwork didn't need to follow his gaze to know what he was talking about.

"Did you want me to do something about it?" he said sarcastically, though by the tone in which he said it, it wasn't apparent he was being sarcastic at all.

"Yes, do whatever it is you want this time. You've proven that your meddling may be effective in dealing with this kind of situation. Go ahead, cheat, anything you want, just do _something_. It's the same thing, just do your job."

"Ah, but you fail to see that she is in fact very different than Danny. Where that future happens because his family dies, her future happens because of something else entirely. She lacks friendship and familial ties and she has no responsibilities. Her problem isn't sudden, it's gradual. There's nothing I can do to remedy the situation unless she has some sense talked into her."

"So talk sense!"

"I would, but it is something that has to be done by…someone else." The wiser observer could see where this was going.

"Ah… the boy?"

"Exactly. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a time stream to repair."

As the observers left, he returned his attention to the screens behind him. On the main screen was Danielle, wandering around looking for new friends.

"I hope for your sake that I'm right," he said aloud to the screen before he suddenly disappeared into nothingness.

---

i know its gonna be a little au but im tryin to keep it cannon as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

**TUE?**

Chapter Two

* * *

It was just like any other day for Danny Fenton, though he was about two ghost attacks short of the daily average. It was dreadfully hot outside and everyone was irritable. They were a few weeks away from Spring Break, around the time when students complain incessantly about the heat and the school continues to refuse to turn on the air conditioning until after vacation. Sam was playing cool and collected, even in her dark outfit. Tucker, on the other hand, was outright panting.

"Man, it's way too hot to even be thinking about ghost hunting, Danny," he said. Danny looked at him from his desk, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Tell me about it," he said. "Thankfully, there haven't been that many attacks. The ghosts don't want to come to the real world just because it's so hot."

"Mister Fenton! Mister Foley! Is there a problem?" Lancer asked from the front of the classroom.

"Uhh…no sir," Danny replied.

"Then will you tell me why you two aren't paying any attention at all to my class?" Danny wasn't going to answer that one, but when he looked around the room, it seemed that the majority of the class was too hot to even stay awake. He had to say something.

"It's uh… just that it's way too hot in here."

"Well then you should know that there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Our new mayor has yet to give money to the educational foundation and without money, our school cannot afford to run air-conditioning until after break." Danny put his head on his desk. Stupid Vlad.

"Yes, sir."

It was just too hot to argue.

---

Danni was not having a good time. She normally always made friends, but for some reason, today she had been made fun of. Gossip must have reached everywhere in the Ghost Zone because they were calling her out for the friendless, family-less clone girl she knew she was. So she ran. It wasn't like she was going to stick around and be made fun of. She pressed on, tears forming in her eyes, and she kept on running. Until, of course, she ran into someone. She was going so fast, she couldn't see and she blindly ran into the person who was standing in her way, tripping over them and knocking them over. She gasped when she saw who it was she ran into and immediately stood up and wiped her tears away, hoping they hadn't been seen. It was Spectra, one of her cousin's enemies. She turned to continue flying on her way, but a green hand caught her leg. She didn't have to look behind her to know it was Bertrand.

"Let me go!" she screamed, struggling against his strong grip. He let go and she fell to the ground. Spectra lowered her sunglasses to see her more clearly.

"Are those _tears_?" she laughed. "Oh, this is too good."

"Don't hurt me! My cousin will find out and he'll kick your-"

"Now, now, dear, it's okay, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," Spectra told her sweetly. Danni looked at her hopefully. But Spectra's sincere grin turned into a mischievous smirk at her naivety. "Well, maybe I am. But what your _cousin_ doesn't know, won't hurt him, right, Bertrand?" In his real ghost form, Bertrand said nothing, but rubbed his hands together evilly.

"Now," Spectra continued. "I want you to know that I'm here to help you…Danni. I want to be here for you since you have no _friends_ or _family_ to help you." Danni said nothing, but looked down at her feet. Spectra felt a small rush of incoming power and went on.

"Of course, I don't know if I'd be the best person to help you. You should probably go back to your father and ask him. Oh, wait, maybe that's not the best idea either. He _did_ try to tear you apart, after all," she grinned.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about him to me!" Danni shrieked. She turned again to run away but Bertrand caught her by the arms this time and held her back.

"You're right. I should have guessed that was a touchy subject. Maybe I should have suggested your…what did you call him? Cousin?"

"Don't…don't talk about Danny, either." Danielle's voice was getting weaker as Spectra drained her newly enhanced supply of energy.

"Getting tired?" Spectra asked, her laughter becoming more alive with every passing second. "There, there, I won't talk about him either if you don't want me to. Instead, I'll talk about his friends. You remember? The boy and girl he hangs out with. They don't like you. They can tell that you're jealous of him and would do anything to take his place. All you want is to be loved, right? See? You're not so different from your father, after all! Only even if you tried to live with him, it would never work out. He doesn't want a daughter. He wants Danny. Not you. No one wants you."

"They like me," Danielle panted in protest to convince Spectra to release her, but knowing she was really just trying to convince herself. "I know they do. They have to! I'm just like their best friend! And I am not. Like. Vlad!" Spectra laughed even harder.

"You're _nothing_ like Danny! You'll never be like him. You'll always be weak in comparison!" That was it. That was Danni's breaking point. She was in tears and Spectra was taking the last of her energy. Her eyes flashed and her fists started glowing. She jerked out of Bertrand's grip and shot a well-aimed ecto-blast at Spectra. It hit her right in the chest and she was flung back, but Danni didn't stay awake long enough to escape. The blue rings formed around her waist and she reverted from Danni Phantom to Danni…

Just before she passed out, she remembered that her human half had no last name.

---

Danny didn't particularly like the Ghost Zone. It was way too creepy in there for his tastes. But right now, he wasn't in the position to choose between staying in the real world or not. A much more powerful than usual Spectra had broken out and stolen his father's latest invention: The Compact Fenton Ecto-booster ("It converts ecto-energy from ghostly enemies to energize yourself! And it fits in your pocket!"). He chased her into the Ghost Zone through the Fenton Portal.

"Hey, come back here!" he yelled at her, aiming an ecto-blast at her back. "What do you need it for anyway? You feed off of misery!"

"True," she cackled, dodging his blasts and sped off faster than even he could fly. "But on the rare occasion that no one around me is _miserable_, I still want to stay young!"

"It looks like you took your depressant vitamins _today_, though. Who was so miserable you became _that_ powerful?" He asked her as he flew as fast as he could behind her. She laughed.

"Oh, I wouldn't know…why don't you ask your _cousin_?" That made Danny stop in surprise.

"My _cousin_?"

Then he saw Danni, laying face down on the ground, directly below him. He flew towards her as fast as he could. "_Danni!_"

Spectra stopped flying as soon as he stopped giving chase to make sure Danni was alright. She flew down to the both of them. She had already gotten all she needed from Danni, but what could she do but gain from feeding off of Danny's misery, too?

"Danni! Danni, wake up!" He turned angrily to Spectra. "What did you do to her!?"

"Relax, kid, she's just taking a rest from her misery. It's not my fault she's so upset, though. That would be your doing."

"My doing?" he growled as he kneeled down to roll the sleeping girl onto her back.

"She hates you, Danny. She's very angry-"

"I know what you're trying to do!" he yelled, his eyes flashing dangerously. "And it won't work!"

He charged a powerful blast and hit Spectra hard. She fell to the ground. Bertrand tried to sneak up behind him but Danny suddenly turned around and punched him so he fell back. He turned again and ran at Spectra, punching her and taking the Fenton Ecto-booster out of her hands. Then he ran back to Danielle, to protect her.

Spectra should have known better than to taunt him by hurting his family. For some reason or another, it was obviously a very sore spot with him. But she wasn't going to give up. Not now. Bertrand stood up and ran to her, giving her his hand. She took it angrily and he pulled her up. They slowly and menacingly walked towards Danny and his clone. Danny stayed put.

"Don't you _ever_ come near my family, my friends, or my town _ever_ again," he said quietly. He took a deep breath.

There was a slight pause for a few moments before he released his Ghostly Wail when Spectra and Bertrand looked at each other, wondering what he was about to do. He released. They were both blown backwards in a horrible blast, both of them holding onto their ears. It wasn't loud, but it was piercing and they couldn't stand it. They both blacked out before Danny even stopped for a breath.

When he did, his shoulders slumped. He turned to the still unconscious Danni and picked her up.

"Come on, we're going home."

* * *

Thanks for reviewin... i still dont know whats going to happen. i probably should have thought about it more before i wrote. Cause how could a little girl like danielle become something like tue? ahhh. so hard. anyway. anything you want in here and any suggestions just write. if they go w the story ill take them to heart and write them in. hehe encouragements good too. 


	3. Chapter 3

**TUE?**

Chapter Three

* * *

Danni woke up slowly and moaned. She ached all over. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Danni!" she heard a happy voice exclaim. "Danni! You're awake!"

"Uhhhhnnn," she groaned and rolled over. Her cousin's fuzzy outline came into view and started getting clearer. "Danny? Ohhh, my head."

"Who is she? And… and what happened to her, Danny? You know Mom and Dad are going to be home soon!" That was… who was it? A taller girl with red hair shoved Danny out of the way and was peering down at her with turquoise eyes. She had to be part of Danny's family.

"Jazz, calm down!" he said. _Jazz_… "She's going to be fine! I just… you have to distract them until dinner! I'll make sure she gets better and then everything will be back to normal." Jazz sighed but reluctantly left the room. Danny returned his attention to his cousin.

"Danni? Are you okay? Do you need a hospital? What did Spectra do to you?" He was talking too fast, clearly frantic.

"Danny, calm down! I'm…fine. I just- just-" Suddenly, she broke into tears again. Apparently, the effects from Spectra hadn't worn off yet.

"I have no one! No one! Spectra was right! I look like you, but I'm going to be exactly like Vlad!" she sobbed. "Old and lonely! And I won't even have a cat! I can't afford a cat!" Danny rubbed her arm awkwardly, unsure of how to comfort her.

"No! You won't be like Vlad! Don't think that!"

"But I have no one!"

"L-look Danni, you can stay with us. It's alright. Everyone will like you. They'll love you!" he finished enthusiastically.

"But I can't," she sobbed even harder. "Your family's too perfect for me. Sam and Tucker don't even like me very much." Danny's face hardened.

"Yes they do," he said in a slightly angry voice. But when he looked at her, his face softened again. "Please, please stay with us!"

"O-" she sniffled. "Okay."

---

It had been totally embarrassing for her, breaking down in front of Danny like that. She felt so degraded. She had practically begged him to stay! But it didn't matter anymore. His parents would be home any minute now and he was setting up a rollaway bed in Jazz's room.

"So, who is she?" she heard Jazz ask in a loud whisper from behind the door of her bedroom.

"She's family, Jazz."

"But Danny-"

"Darn it, Jazz! I'll explain everything later! Just help me put the sheets on!" he sounded stressed. Danni hated herself for making him stress over her. "Look, she-"

Suddenly there was a loud bang from the front of the house as the door burst open.

"Kids! We're home!"

Danny flew out of Jazz's room, practically running into Danni. He quickly overcame his surprise and grabbed her hand. He ran with her to the front door, practically dragging her down the stairs.

"Mom, Dad! This-" he said, shoving Danni in front of him. "is my friend... uh, Danielle. She needs a place to stay."

Maddie's happy smile turned into a frown. The girl in front of her was more than a little dirty, and she bore a striking resemblance to her son. Why would she need a place to stay?

"Danny! Is…is she a runaway?" she asked. The girl's eyes widened and her son coughed.

"Uhh… no, she just, uh-"

"Came to _visit_, from…Wisconsin," Danni took over confidently. "And I needed a place to stay. I met Danny a long time ago and I just wanted to stop by and say hi. You know, that is, if it's not too much to ask…" Maddie brightened at the fact that the girl wasn't some sort of criminal or fugitive.

"Why of course, sweetie. You're _always_ welcome to stay for a while!" Danni tried to keep the smile on her face. _For a while…_ not as long as she wanted.

"Come on, Mads!" Jack interrupted the conversation. "Let's go down to the lab. Jazz! Why don't you fix your brother and his girlfriend some dinner?" Without waiting for her answer, he and his wife headed towards the lab.

Before he left, though, he gave his son a hard smack on the back.

"'Atta boy, Dan. Finally got over that Sam girl, I see," he whispered rather loudly, giving his son a wink. _Ew._

Danny blushed.

"Dad! Danni's not-" but Jack had slammed the door to the lab. "-my girlfriend." Danni giggled.

Danny looked at her and huffily turned towards the kitchen.

"Hungry?"

"You bet!"

"Jaaazz!!" he called. "Can you get us something to eat?"

Danni smiled. She wouldn't be able to stay forever, but at least she had been well received. Then her smile faded. Even though she was here, she felt it. Her desire to have a real family was still weighing her down.

---

"Why that little-!" he growled. What was she doing at the Fenton household? Vlad slammed his fist on the computer. He had given her life! And what had she done? She had teamed up with Daniel and Valerie to take him down!

Well, technically, he had been trying to take away her life in the first place, but he was more than willing to overlook that little fact. He looked back at the screen of the computer to watch the video of the Fenton Works dining room, which he had bugged a few months back. Danielle, Daniel, and Jasmine were sitting at the table, eating a pretty sorry excuse for a meal, not that it mattered much to them. They were laughing happily with each other, telling stories and having fun. Vlad narrowed his eyes at the scene.

No matter how much she thought otherwise, Danielle would never belong. She didn't deserve to be there. She was a mistake. A mistake he was going to fix.

---

"Danni, wake up!" Jazz yelled into her ear. She groaned and rolled over.

"So…tired. Too early."

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" she asked her. When she didn't respond Jazz pulled the covers off of her. "Get up! We have to get ready for school." That woke Danni up.

"School?!" she cried. Jazz looked frustrated.

"Yeah, Danny told me the whole story after you fell asleep. And since you're going to be staying for a few days, I thought it would be best if you followed him while you're here." Danni didn't miss the 'few days' part, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she expressed her gratitude.

"High school? Really? Wow, that is _so_ cool! Let's go!" she yelled and jumped out of bed. She changed out of Jazz's spare pajamas into her clothes and ran down the hall to Danny's room, throwing open the door excitedly. Danny wasn't there.

"Don't worry, probably just Skulker. We'll meet him there. I'll drive you," Jazz said when she appeared behind Danni who was staring into his room.

When she had gotten to school, Danny met up with them, just like Jazz had said he would.

"Come on, Danni! We're gonna be late for class," he said. Then he looked at Jazz. "Thanks for driving her, Jazz. See you later."

"Bye!" Jazz waved, looking after them fondly as Danny pulled Danielle through the sea of students.

---

"Here, we're going to Lancer's class first," Danny told her and made a sharp turn from the hallway into a full classroom. In the front of the room, she spotted the dumb jock she had seen a few months ago in the lunchroom the first time she was here. He was sitting next to a pretty brunette girl. Behind them was Valerie, who was looking confusedly from her to Danny and across from her, Sam and Tuck. They were openly gaping but Danny either didn't see them, or chose to ignore them. He sat in the back and playfully shoved her into a seat next to him. She snorted.

"Mister Fenton, care to explain why you're late?" Both Danni and Danny jumped. Danny had been paying so much attention to Danni, he forgot about Mr. Lancer. How was he going to explain her to him?

"Uh…yeah, uh… Mr. Lancer, this is Danielle," he said.

"Are you going to explain why she's here?"

"Uh, she's my cousin…" Danni wanted to slap her forehead. Her cousin could be so stupid sometimes!

"Let me rephrase; what is she doing in my classroom?" Mr. Lancer asked again, slowly this time.

"She…uh…"

"I'm shadowing him! I know I'm not old enough to go to high school yet, but my parents wanted me to see what it was like. And my name's Danni. Danni with an 'i,'" she told him, standing up proudly.

"Huh," Mr. Lancer said. "His cousin, did you say?" Danni grinned.

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm. Well, sit down, then. Class started five minutes ago." Danni obeyed, sitting back down in the chair next to Danny. Lancer walked back to the chalk board to resume his boring lecture, but not before looking back at Danni for one last time. Personally, he felt that it was very _odd_ that Danny's cousin would have the same name as and look exactly like him. Very odd indeed.

-

For Danny, class went on and on…and on…and on some more and all he could think about was the heat. He sighed heavily, head in hands, blowing his bangs from his sweaty face. He looked around the room.

Everyone either had their heads in both hands staring at the front of the classroom with glassy eyes, or were sound asleep on their desks. Then he looked next to him.

Danni was completely wide awake eagerly listening to every word that came out of Lancer's mouth. She even had her notebook in front of her and was actually taking a few notes. She seemed completely at ease, like the heat of the classroom wasn't bothering her in the slightest.

"…and that's why Mary Shelley used so many governmental references. I hope you all read your copy of…"

"How are you paying attention?" he whispered to Danielle. Danni's concentration on the lecture almost seemed to snap and she looked at him.

"What?"

"I _said_, how can you be paying attention? It's so hot!"

"Danny, why _aren't_ you listening? It's so cool!" Danny snorted. And at just that moment, they both shivered and gasped.

Danielle let out a little 'eep!' as the blue mist escaped her mouth. Danny stiffened and raised his hand. And not surprisingly, at the exact time Valerie raised hers. Neither of them waited to be called on before they exclaimed, "May I go to the bathroom?"

Valerie ran out of the room and Danny followed her, grabbing Danni's arm and dragging her out of her chair with him. He stopped at the door and turned last minute to face Mr. Lancer.

"And I'm taking Danni with me to show her where it is! Uh… for future reference…" He briefly looked at Danni and then continued on dragging her out of the classroom.

"What are you doing?" she yelped as soon as they were far enough away from any listening ears. In answer, he shoved her into an empty room.

"Change!" He exclaimed and proceeded to change himself. Blinking away her confusion, she followed suit.

She had been slightly bewildered by his actions at first. Obviously, she was unaccustomed to his life. Sure, she could handle imitating the lifestyle of Danny Fenton, normal human teenager. But throw in the heroics of Danny Phantom, and suddenly she wasn't so sure. She was the type to stand up for what she believed was right, but was she a hero? If she were in his place, would she have had the courage to fight ghosts everyday?

She was brought out of her thoughts when Danny grabbed her wrist.

"Come on! What are you waiting for? Lets go!" he bent his knees and flew through the ceiling, taking her with him. Once they were on the roof, Danny let go of her. He looked around. Danni copied him. She didn't see anything.

"Uh, Danny, I don't think there's-" Suddenly a blast knocked her off her feet with a yelp.

"I see you've brought family, whelp," Skulker laughed. Danny ran to stand protectively over Danielle and gritted his teeth.

"Don't touch her!" he yelled and charged up his hands for a powerful blast. He released, and Skulker was thrown back with force.

"Danny, I can take care of myself," Danni told him sourly, standing up. He glared at her.

"Sure. That's why I had to rescue- aahhh!" He was hit in the back by a sneak attack from Skulker and was now sprawled on the ground. Skulker ran at him, completely ignoring Danni, and shoved a gun in his face. Danni grinned. Now was her time to shine. She could finally prove to Danny and all the other ghosts that she could handle herself. Not that she hadn't already. She had beaten up Vlad, after all.

"Haha, finally! I have you!" The guns Skulker was holding whined, charging up for a very close-range shot.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Danielle interrupted, arms crossed. Skulker lowered his weapons. He opened his mouth to say something, but she flew at him before he even had the chance.

She punched him hard in the jaw and he took a few steps back. She landed and turned, breaking her momentum and ran again, this time charging her hands and feet with ecto-beams. She spun punches and kicks at Skulker, using her unique fighting technique. Well, it was unique compared to Danny technique, anyway.

Skulker was on the ground now and Danielle hovered over him triumphantly.

"Stay away from my cousin, Skulker," she said. She was about to blast him again when he reached out and grabbed her ankle, taking her by surprise. She shrieked when he flung her on the side of the roof opposite Danny, who was just getting up.

"Danni!" he cried. _Great_, she thought rolling her eyes. _She thought she told him she could handle it!_

He flew towards her with great speed, but Skulker caught him midair with an ecto-missile. It hit its target and he fell to the ground, landing hard.

"Danny!" Danni cried, sounding just like him. Danny looked at her from where he fell. Was she being sarcastic? No, she was too sweet for that.

"Whatever, Skulker. I don't think we have that much time. _We_ have to get back to school and _you_ have an appointment." Skulker raised an eyebrow.

"An appointment?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," he said, pulling a thermos seemingly from nowhere. "I scheduled a meeting for you and the Fenton Thermos!"

Skulker's eyes widened when Danny pressed the side button. He was sucked in almost instantly. Danni stood up next to Danny as he closed the lid.

"You alright?" Danny asked her. She opened her mouth to answer when-

"Nice catch, ghost." Both Danny and Danielle spun around to see Valerie, pointing a humongous gun at them. "I think I'll take it from here, though."

Danni ran around Danny to Valerie.

"Valerie, don't!" she cried. Valerie gasped and instantly lowered her weapons.

"You brought your cousin?" she asked Danny. "Wait a second, I thought she was cousins with…with…"

Danny bit his lip. He had just realized the dangers of bringing Danni to school with him. Valerie knew she was half-human, half-ghost. And if her human side looked like Danny Fenton…and her ghost half looked like Danny Phantom…

Danny didn't hesitate any longer.

"Come on, Danni we're leaving now," he said nervously, grabbing Danni's wrist yet again and pulling her back through the roof.

Right before they landed in the empty classroom, Danni twisted her arm around and he dropped her.

"I thought I told you, I could take care of myself!" she said, standing up. Danny looked angrily to her.

"You don't understand. It's not about you! At least, not anymore."

"What?"

"Valerie! She knows your secret, right? What's to say she hasn't just figure out mine?"

Danni suddenly found the floor _very_ intriguing. Danny changed back and stalked out of the room.

* * *

**Hordak's Pupil-** you better stop guessing right now cause youre gonna give away the plot! haha you totally just made it harder for me. now im gonna have to mix it up a little.

**JessPhantomYlonen-** hah i know i dont even think she has Sam or Tucker. I got the feeling that they didnt like her that much


	4. Chapter 4

**TUE?**

Chapter Four

* * *

The whole rest of the day, Danielle and Danny stayed as far away from each other as possible. At lunch, Danny sat next to Sam and Tucker. Thankfully, Valerie was nowhere to be found.

"Danny, where's Danielle?" Sam asked. Tucker appeared leaned in beside her.

"Yeah man, why's she even here?" Danny sighed.

"She got hurt by Spectra and I found her in the Ghost Zone. She really needs a place to stay, so you have to be nice to her, alright?"

"What? What makes you say that? Why wouldn't we be nice to her?" Sam asked innocently. Danny glared at her.

"Look, it doesn't matter right now anyway. She's not talking to me."

They all turned in their seats, trying to find Danni among the crowd of kids stuffing their faces. When they spotted her, they almost gasped.

-

"Oh, Danni, you're so cute! I wish _I_ could have a little cousin just like you! I'd take you shopping and I'd do your makeup and your hair and…" they heard Paulina swoon over Danni's cuteness. Danni was smiling, happy to be the center of attention for once in her life.

"She's sitting with _**them**_?" Sam growled in surprise. Danny leaned back, a little embarrassed.

"How is it that she's able to make friends with the popular crowd on her first day and I've been trying to be on the A-list my whole life?"

Danni noticed them staring at her from across the room. She frowned and turned away.

---

They were all in Lancer's class for the fifth and final time today. School would be over any minute now… Danny, Sam, and Tucker were sitting together in the back row. Danni was sitting in the front in between Star and Paulina. Dash was sitting with Kwan behind them with a dejected look on his face.

"…and the planetary motions of-" Mr. Lancer was droning on in a monotone voice when the bell rang. Everyone rushed out of the room, knocking over chairs and fighting to get to the door.

Just then, Danny gasped and he could see his breath.

"Oh no." he said dreadfully. Why now? School just got out! That was three times today! He shoved through the crowd, making his way to the door and out of the classroom. As he pushed his way to an empty classroom, he saw Danni doing exactly the same. She gave him a cold glare and shoved a bunch of kids in front of Danny, knocking them over so that they blocked his way. She ran around them to the room and closed the door right before he got there.

"I was here first! Get your own room!" he heard her say through the door. He saw a flash of light come through the crack underneath it and waited five seconds before opening it. She was gone by the time he got in. He closed the door behind him in a hurry and changed into Danny Phantom.

By the time he reached the roof outside, Danni was already fighting a ghost that looked like Skulker behind the building. He flew towards them and blasted him back before he could blast Danni. Danni spun around to face him.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I can take care of-"

She was cut off by another blast from the offending ghost and was sent reeling backwards, ending up flat on her back. Danny was about to attack again when he remembered something…

"Wait a second…I thought I already caught Skulker today… "

The ghost took advantage of his hesitation and blasted him back with a powerful gun. It was then that he noticed that the Skulker look alike was slightly darker than the real Skulker was.

"We're not here for you. We're here for the other Phantom child," he said in what sounded like Skulker's voice.

"_Other_ Phantom child- you mean Danni?" he asked, confused, as Danni got to her feet. Then his eyes widened in realization. "You- you're SkulkTech!"

"That we are, child," Technus replied. "And we're here on a mission." Danny narrowed his eyes.

"A mission?"

"To destroy the Ghost-girl!" Skulker yelled. He launched several missiles at Danny and Danielle. Danni dodged but Danny was hit and he screamed in pain as he was flung to the ground. Danni continued to attack SkulkTech and they were soon engaged in a full-on aerial fight.

"Danny, you alright?" Danny groaned and turned to face Tucker and Sam who had just come out of the school. He glared at them. Tucker grinned.

"Sorry, standard question."

Sam pulled a thermos out of her backpack just as they all heard Danni scream.

"Here, Danny, get him with this before Danielle gets hurt!" she said in a hurry and tossed the thermos to him. Danny caught it and stood up just as SkulkTech hit the ground. Danni followed only moments after, tangled in some sort of claw-like appendage that was attached to him.

"Too late," Tucker said. Sam and Danny glared at him.

"Help get this off me!" Danni yelled and Danny immediately obeyed. He started pulling at the metal around Danni's waist and Sam and Tucker grabbed him in order to help. It wasn't working. They were pulling their hardest, but it was stuck.

Sam didn't miss the weird coincidence of it all.

"Uh-oh," she said. Everyone looked at her expectantly, but instead of answering, she was looking at where SkulkTech lay. Just as they all followed her gaze, a medallion hanging on his neck fell off his neck to the ground. They gasped as they were all engulfed in a glowing blue. Barely moments later, they found themselves in a huge room surrounded completely by glowing green gears.

The claw holding Danni opened automatically and she stood up, brushing herself off.

"Huh. Where are we, do you think?" she asked, forgetting her fight with Danny. Danny, Sam, and Tuck didn't answer. Instead, they were all staring at each other, sickening feelings hitting all of their stomachs.

"More like, why are we here?" Danny finally managed to croak. Danni didn't pay attention to him. She ran over to a shelf in the corner with a lone, dented thermos on it.

"What's a Fenton Thermos doing here?" she wondered aloud, extending her arm to reach for it. "Look at it, it's all dirty and stuff." Danny ran to her and caught her arm just in time.

"Don't touch that!" he yelled, almost hysterically. Danni was surprised by his tone.

"But…but why?"

He didn't answer, but dragged her away from the shelf.

Just then something caught their attention.

"Look," Tucker said quietly, pointing to the familiar green screens that he, Sam, and Danny had seen what seemed like ages ago. The group followed him as he walked closer to them to get a better look at the scene that was being played out.

They all gasped. Danny unconsciously took a few steps back. _It can't be…_

* * *

uh oh.

**DfK-** hey thanks. and very very true. I havent seen either episode since the last one came out. thanks for reviewin!


	5. Chapter 5

**TUE?**

Chapter Five

* * *

Sam and Tucker watched with wide-eyes as the scene unfolded. Danny watched with horror. Danni, on the other hand, watched with interest. There, on the screen in front of them, was Danielle. A jerky, older, and yes, even slightly more push-packed version of Danielle. A super-powerful Danielle with no morals and free from responsibilities. She was blasting everything in sight. Sam found herself repeat what she'd hoped to never have to say again.

"I think I see the future you. And... you're kind of a jerk." The Danni on screen took a break from blasting buildings when at least twenty cop cars pulled up in front of she was floating. She took a deep breath. Danny knew where this was going and paled as she released a Ghostly Wail. It was exactly like his, but worse. So much worse. It was so high pitched- at least five octaves higher than his own- that the scream itself could probably knock ghosts out, let alone the supersonic blast that came with it. He felt the urge to throw his hands to his ears and he wasn't even in the same _time stream_ as her.

"Woah," Danielle was gaping. The future her was so _strong_. "Is that some sort of ghostly wail? That's so awesome!" Danny was going to be sick.

"No way…" he whispered. Danni turned to him.

"You don't think it's cool?" she asked.

"Danni… we have to get out of here," he said. Sam and Tucker looked at him in confusion. Danny gulped. He had never told them about what was in the Fenton Thermos that was in the corner. He didn't want to remember.

"But-" Danni started. Before she could continue, he grabbed her arm hard and started towards the door. Only to bump into someone. Someone blue. He looked up slowly into the eyes of Clockwork.

"Going somewhere?" he asked with a smile. Danny gasped.

"I- um…no?" he stammered. Danni ripped her arm out of his grip and shoved him away.

"Who're you?" she asked the mysterious ghost.

-

Tucker was fast. He ran to the wall where medallions were hanging on hooks. He grabbed four, put one on himself, and tossed one to Sam. When Danielle shoved Danny away, he threw two at the both of them. Lucky Tucker had good aim. They landed around both of their necks. Danielle glanced down at it when it fell around her neck and glanced briefly behind her to Tucker, but she didn't really give it a passing thought before she continued the conversation, looking directly at the blue ghost in front of her.

-

Clockwork smiled.

"I'm Clockwork, master of all time. I would probably have attempted to kill you by now, but I'm sure Danny will save us some time and just tell you what's going on, won't you, Danny?" Medallion in hand, Danny took a few steps back. He had thought of Clockwork as a sort of mentor, maybe even an ally. But this was too much. Besides, he didn't even know what was going on so it would have been stupid to try to explain it to Danni.

"Wha- what are you trying to do? Make me crazy? Did you screw up time? 'Cause this is way more Déjà vu than I can handle."

"Relax, Danny," he sighed. "I need your help."

"_My_ help?"

"You saw the future. You can tell where this is headed, can't you?" Danny looked uncertainly at Danielle and swallowed.

"It's not possible."

"What's not possible?" Danni cut in. She was more than a little irritated. She wanted to know what was going on!

Both Danny and Clockwork ignored her.

"You just saw it with your own eyes, and you deny it?"

"But…but how?" Danny's throat was dry.

"That's the key, isn't it?"

-

Sam and Tuck were so wrapped up in Danny's conversation with Clockwork, they failed to notice Danni sneak off. She was a little angry that no one was telling her what was going on, so she cut herself out of the conversation. She ran to the shelf with the thermos. It was very dirty and dented from the inside.

She couldn't explain why she took it. She just felt attracted to it. She grabbed the thermos and shoved it into the backpack she was still wearing, in between a notebook and pencils. She turned around and walked back to the discussion slowly so as not to attract anyone's attention. Danny was stuttering on about something and Clockwork was smiling knowingly. Sam and Tucker's gazes were fixed on the two of them.

-

"It just can't be possible. She's too… _Danni. _Too good to become that."

"Anyone could say the same about you, and yet…"

Danni interrupted them by pulling on Danny's arm like a little girl stuck at a party she didn't want to attend.

"Danny, lets go," she half-whined.

Danny looked at her and swallowed hard. Clockwork's smile fell. He suddenly looked tired.

"You're stuck here," he told her, his voice suddenly becoming threatening. "I've been charged to get rid of you. There's nowhere for you to go." He flew up and grabbed a scythe that was resting with a stone sculpture that was hanging on the wall.

"No!" Sam, Tucker, and Danny yelled together. Danni's eyes widened. He was going to try to kill her! She looked back at the screens and panicked.

"Nowhere to go but the future," she said a little nervously. She ran at Danny and grabbed him before he even knew she was coming. But once he did, he knew what she was going to do and he grabbed Sam and Tucker so they wouldn't be left behind. She flew all of them (with surprising strength) to the screen- portals. She hesitated, giving the scene one last look before flying into it, pulling Danny, Sam, and Tucker with her.

* * *

hmm back to back.

**DfK-** sorry, rough day haha. and ooooh whats the idea: )

thanks for reviewing, but just fyi, its gonna be mucho not-original-plot-ish. like its gonna be almost exactly the same as tue just with line changes and whatever. atleast for the next few chapters anyway. which is kinda the point. im trying to write what danielle would do if she was in a similara situation to danny. but since she becomes evil for a way different reason, its definitely going to become origial. and seeing that shes taken the thermos, there is going to be a big plot twist somewhere soon... hah i bet you cacn all see where im going with _that_.


	6. Chapter 6

**TUE?**

Chapter Six

* * *

They screamed as they fell to the ground, hitting the pavement of a cracked street in what looked like somewhere in the middle of a mostly destroyed Amity Park. Tucker was the first to stand up. He brought a hand to his head.

"Woah. This is some serious Déjà vu," he said, adjusting his glasses. He held out a hand to Sam. Sam took it and he pulled her up.

"Tell me about it," she said in a slightly sarcastic voice. She crossed her arms. "Danny, what exactly is going on here?"

She and Tucker looked at Danny and Danielle, who had both just stood up and were brushing themselves off. Danni frowned.

"Yeah, Danny. What's going on? I've heard of Clockwork, but I thought he was like, only a myth or something. And what was he talking about?" she asked. Danny sighed hesitantly. He looked at Sam and Tucker and made a desperate face.

"Look guys, I never told you about what happened when you were here the first time. I didn't think…I would never have guessed that it could happen to Danni."

"_What_ could happen to me?" Danni was getting angry. Why couldn't he just tell her?

"You remember that thermos I told you not to touch?" he asked. Danni paled a little, but didn't say anything. She shifted her body so that besides the straps, Danny wasn't able to see the backpack. She nodded dumbly.

"Inside that thermos was me, ten years in the future. One of the most powerful ghosts in the future Ghost Zone. And I- _he_ was evil. It's kind of a long story, but basically I trapped him in the thermos before he could kill my family and Sam and Tuck and Clockwork reset time for me so I could have a second chance," he said. Then he turned to face his best friends, his expression softening. "_That's_ why I gave the answers back to Mr. Lancer. I promised you guys I wouldn't let him happen. That I wouldn't cheat. Clockwork took the thermos from me and _he's_ been trapped outside of time ever since." Danni looked horrified.

"If _Danielle's_ evil in this timeline, where's Danny?" Sam wondered. Danni wasn't paying attention to her.

"Danny," she started confidently. "I won't let this happen. If you could prevent it. I'm sure I can too." Sam looked around at all the destruction.

"How do you think this all _happens_?" Tucker asked, gesturing to the entire city. The streets were cracked, cars were strewn everywhere, buildings were smoking, and the city itself was basically deserted. Danni felt horrible.

"I don't know. But based on what we all saw in Clockwork's, I'm pretty sure that I'm the one responsible."

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, someone in red popped up in front of them. Clearly a woman, she was sporting what looked like an almost impenetrable ghost hunting outfit. At least ten guns were trained on both Danny and Danielle.

"Oh, no," Danny gulped. All ten guns whined in unison, creating an eerie effect.

"Got that right, ghost."

"Valerie!" Danny and Danielle yelped in unison.

"Can't fool me this time, Phantom!" she cried and fired. Pink netting shot out of the guns and covered the two ghosts in front of her. She took aim at them with a huge ecto-cannon. And then she lowered it and blinked in confusion. "Wha-? The- there are two of you!"

And slowly, she became aware of the two panicked kids standing on either side of them. "Sam-?" her voice shook with horrible surprise. "_Tucker-_?" She lowered her weapon and it powered down. Her eyes became even wider, if possible. "I-it's not possible! This is a trick! You _can't_ be alive!"

"Wait, not alive _again_?" Tucker asked surprised and more than a little annoyed. He turned to Sam. "What are we? Destined to die?" Sam huffed.

"Looks that way," she said. Then she smirked, full of twisted humor. "Huh. Taking the CATs really was a waste after all."

"The CATs…" Valerie started, thinking back to her more happier memories. "So long ago…" Then she hefted her gun to her shoulder again so it pointed at Danny and Danielle and stood far enough away so that if she pulled the trigger, it would hit both of them. "You're damn right they didn't matter! You killed them! You killed him!" she shrieked, pointing at Danny. Danny was confused until it became clear that she wasn't talking to him. She was talking to Danni. _Oh, no_.

Valerie's grip on her gun strengthened as she steadied it, preparing for the recoil. _Oh no oh no oh no oh-_

Her finger tightened on the trigger, but suddenly she was sent flying to the other side of the street by a green blast.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that was me," a woman's voice came. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared in front of them.

There, right in front of them was the older Danielle they had seen from Clockwork's tower. She was looking straight at Danni. "And you, _eventually_."

---

The four teens stared at her in horror. Danni's jaw dropped completely. Now that she had seen future self up close, she realized how…pretty she was. No, not pretty. Beautiful. It was weird talking about herself in this way, and certainly not modest, but she couldn't _not_ admit it. The terrifying flaming hair, fangs, red eyes, and pale complexion, aside, she had thick black eyelashes, red lips, an almost sweet, petite face, and a perfectly toned body. And Danni could practically feel the power radiating off of her. She was all Danni had ever wanted to be. And it made her sick.

How could she possibly become evil?

The future Danni suddenly trapped Sam and Tucker with a wave of her arm in a power the real Danni had never seen before and they were suddenly frozen in place and glowing a dull green.

"Hey Sam, Tucker," the she started in a smooth, drawling voice. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

She walked past them. She was playing calm, cool, and collected, smiling sweetly. Up until she saw Danny.

"_And Danny,_" she said, her voice suddenly a low hiss and her face a scowl. But then she took a calming breath and the horrible smile and sweet, innocent voice returned. "To what could I possibly owe this little blast from the past?"

Then she saw the medallions hanging around all of their necks. She growled.

"Clockwork, that stupid-" Suddenly, she was cut off by a pink blast from the apparently forgotten Valerie. She fell to the ground, landing on her back in a cloud of dust.

The future Danni was momentarily surprised, her eyes widened by a fraction, but she was instantly in the air, flying at Valerie for an attack, fists were glowing a powerful green. Valerie hesitated in fear for a fraction of a second, but instantly snapped out of her stupor and shot grenades at the future Danni.

Danny watched in horror as almost the same exact events from all those months ago played themselves out. The Danni of the future had a different fighting style than the Danny of the future, but even so, Valerie was soon on the ground with at least several fractured ribs. He watched in horror as the future Danni walked casually up to where Valerie lay, grabbed her jumpsuit, and picked her up as if she weighed no more than a bag of feathers.

"Finally, after all these years! I promised I would come for you last because you _were_ doing me a favor, hunting Danny," she said, her voice taking up a deadly tone. "But even so, he still liked you, didn't he? I promised him I would kill everyone he ever loved. And I won't go back on my promise just because of his pathetic death!" With that, she punched Valerie, sending her flying. Sam and Tucker blinked. The Danny of this timeline was dead?

"Valerie!" Danny cried, snapping the pink netting that had trapped both him and Danni. He flew at her as fast as he could, a look of concentration crossing his face as he tried to propel himself faster than he could actually fly. Danni, on the other hand, stood where she was, frozen in place by sudden realization. _No way…it _couldn't_ be! She wasn't _that_ bad... Was she?_

She didn't know details but she had a pretty good idea of what had caused this future:

Jealously.

* * *

huh. well there you go. thanks for reviewing. suggestions always welcome but i have most of the basic plot figured out by now.

yeah, you said it, major deja vu

and hah yes, their future is so screwed.


	7. Chapter 7

**TUE?**

Chapter Seven

* * *

She had been jealous of him her entire life. Ever since she had become stable enough to be considered alive, she knew she was just a prototype. A prototype for what was to be the _real_ clone of _him_. After Vlad kidnapped him and he escaped, he had just stood there, telling her he wasn't trying to hurt her, that Vlad was. She fought him with all her strength, he did nothing, and she barely left a scratch. True, she was physically unstable at the time, but even so, gossip-wise, it was undisputable that he was more powerful. He was strong and heroic; she hadn't even fought enough ghosts to know if she was capable of beating them. He had family and friends to live for; she had no one. He was original. She was the clone.

Self-degrading thoughts raced through her mind and she suddenly felt restless. She had to get out of here! It didn't matter to her what time she was in. All she wanted to do was run. She turned, light on her feet, looking for a good direction to start.

"Danni!" she heard Sam yell. "Look out!" Danni didn't even bother looking behind her. She sprinted.

She had gone only a few feet when a hand grabbed her. And hard.

"Let me go!" she cried and wriggled out of the iron grip on her shoulder. She fell on the street and looked up…at herself.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" the future Danni said, her voice falsely sweet. "I thought you'd want to stay, considering the fact that-eep!"

She was cut off by a green blast not unlike her own. It hit her, but it only forced her a couple of steps back.

"Get away from her!" Danny's voice called out. He sounded angry and protective all at once. He flew towards the future Danni, fist pulled back for a punch. When he was close enough, his fist flew forward at future Danni's face. Only to be stopped by her hand. She tightened her grip on his clenched fist and Danni could have sworn she heard every single one of his knuckles crack. He cried out in pain.

Danni whimpered.

"Let him go!" she tried to yell, but it only came out as a squeak. The future Danni snarled and swung Danny around. She let go just in time that his momentum forced him to smash into the ground harder than gravity would have pulled him. She picked him up by the throat and began shocking him. Danni turned to Sam and Tuck as his screams became louder. They were gaping in a mixture of horror and terror.

"Guys! Run!" she cried. Broken out of their stupor, they didn't need to be told twice. They headed towards FentonWorks. Future Danni let go of Danny and he slumped to the ground with a sigh, closing his eyes restfully, relieved the pain had finally stopped.

"Run?" she laughed. "_Where_ are they going to go?" She took a deep breath, and Danni barely had time to cover her ears and duck before her future self released a horrible Ghostly Wail. Tears even formed at her eyes, it was so piercing. The shriek itself broke windows, but the supersonic blast was what caused the FentonWorks building to topple.

She hadn't seen them in time to warn them. Sam and Tuck were standing under the building when it fell, crashing to the ground on top of them. After a few moments, the dust cleared to reveal a huge pile of rubble.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Danni wailed. It wasn't possible! It couldn't have happened! But it did…and it was her own fault! "_Sam_! **Tuck**!"

She choked up, real tears coming now, and fell to her knees.

"Danni," a hoarse whisper came from the ground. She looked over at Danny, who was pushing himself to his knees beside her with difficulty. "The medallions…"

She returned her gaze to the pile of bricks that was once FentonWorks. Right in front of the rubble were two shining medallions, each with a CW inscription. Did that mean they went back to their own time?

"Take off your medallion," Danny instructed, louder this time. Momentarily forgotten, the future Danni heard and she laughed.

"And let you get away?" she laughed even harder and knelt down next to the two of them. She ripped the time medallions away from their necks in a sudden movement, so that their heads were jerked forward before the ribbons around their necks snapped. She shoved them hurriedly into the both of their chests. "I can't have that."

Danni couldn't think about anything but the pain. She had felt worse, but it was enough to cause her vision to go black and her head to spin. She didn't even have time to figure out what her future self had done to her before she fell to the ground, out cold. The last thing she heard besides Danny's scream next to her was her future self's manic laughter.

---

Danni woke with a start. She was lying face down in the dirt.

"Oww," she moaned, rolling on her back. She tried to bring a hand to her head, but found that she couldn't. She looked down at herself to see her torso, arms included, were tightly bound in glowing green rope. She struggled, and eventually managed to get to her knees, blinking to clear her vision. In front of her was Danny, just as tied up as she was and sitting on the step of some sort of memorial statue. His feet were dangling near the words 'Gone, but not forgotten'. She tilted her head and squinted to better see the memorial. It was a life size depiction of Danny's family, Sam, and Tucker. A smaller, separate statue of Danny was half sunken into the ground so that the only part of the inscription on his memorial that could be read was 'Gone.'

"Danny…" she started, her voice hoarse. "What-"

"We have to take out the medallions," he interrupted her hurridly, looking around anxiously. "The only way is to fly to Vlad's-" He stopped himself, reluctant to continue. It was pure luck that he had gotten out alive when he was fighting his future self. Which brought up something else he didn't want to remember. That he hadn't even able to save his own family. That was totally Clockwork's doing. And besides, he didn't even know how this future even happened. How could Danielle possibly become a cold-blooded killer? She didn't even have a family to blow up.

His eyes widened in realization…_She didn't even have a family to blow up…_

Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"…The time medallions?"

"Yeah," his voice cracked. "I'm guessing they're fused inside of us…" Danni gave him a questioning look. He gave her a sad, ironic smile in return. "You know…intangible and unreachable whether we're ghost or human…"

"Which means the both of you will be unable to go back in time."

Both Danny and Danielle spun on their knees as much as they were able to without falling. Future Danni was walking slowly towards them, hands behind her back. When she was close enough, she dropped something purple near Danni's feet. Her backpack. Danni ignored it and her face suddenly became defiant.

"It doesn't matter if I go back in time or not!" she yelled. "I'll never, _**ever**_ turn into you!"

"Of course you will," the future Danni sneered. Danny gasped in shock as she formed a portal out of thin air with a flick of her wrist. Then the both of them- Danielle and Danny- watched in horror as two blue rings formed around the Future Danni's waist. It traveled up her body slowly, transforming her into the spitting image of the younger Danni. "It's only a matter of time."

They both yelped as she picked them up by the glowing ecto-ropes that bound them. The real Danni panicked as she was swung backwards, about to be thrown into the Ghost Zone. What could she do?! What could stop her future self?

But then, she remembered something. There was only one thing left to try. Why not go for it? The Fenton Thermos from Clockwork's tower was lying halfway visible directly under her feet, sticking out of the backpack.

"Wait!" she screamed. That caught her future self's attention as she hesitated for a fraction of a second. Danny looked at her frantically and quizzically. "There's just one last thing I gotta do…"

Danny's eyes dropped to follow her gaze and widened at the implications.

"Danni, NO!!!"

But it was too late. Danni used the brief pause to throw all her strenght into a strong, ecto-powered stomp on the backpack. The result: an explosion of metal shards that tore through the purple backpack, notebook, and pencils, and a horrible, deep laughter.

* * *

well heres the big plot twist everyones been waiting for. 

lotta things:

i didnt think it was that big of a deal that danny died but everyone was like woah, why? i mean, seriously, i would totally be doing him injustice if i made him live like a hermit with vlad in a creepy cave w/o his powers. that would really suck for him. and it would be weird to have three dannys all at the same place, right? youve got the original and phantom. it would be so hard to write in a third... plus his death is probably gonna have some part in danni's becoming evil cause theres not that many things out there besides it that would actually make her want to kill ppl. also, my favorite retelling of the whole tue story is Firefury Amahira's _Anathema _(if you havent read it, seriously, _do_) i like to think that the events in her account of TUE is what really went on and in it, danny killed danni so it was kinda only fair.

second, its getting harder to write anything cause of school and crap. so this storys gonna be updated every wednesday and my other story is gonna be updated every saturday.

third, besides school and shit, its just getting harder to just write this story. just what the hell is future Danny going to say to future Danni? Switching Places, my other story is supposed to be comical, but this is...not, really. im so bad at writing like this. plotwise, i have to say this story is better than my other, and im guessing by the number of hits and reviews, other people think so too. but stylistically speaking, this story was **not** well thought out.

suggestions? comments? haha, advice?

**phantomjessylonen-** calm down haha youre so funny! idk i have no real reason why she took it. see? not well thought out at all.


	8. Chapter 8

**TUE?**

Chapter Eight

* * *

The explosion had thrown them all back, forcing the future Danni to drop the kids she had been holding so that they fell to the ground. She, however, had kept her ground, and she quickly changed back to her real form, adopting a threatening battle stance as deep resounding laughter filled their ears. The dust eventually cleared, revealing a tall, menacing figure on his hands and knees, eyes closed against the light and slightly weakened from having spent months on months in a tiny thermos. From where he had fallen on the ground next to Danni, Danny's eyes widened in pure terror.

"No…" he whispered. He tried to scramble to his feet, but ended up falling on his knees again.

"So long…" Phantom said, finally opening his eyes. "Stuck in that damned thermos!"

If Danni hadn't been scared before, she was now scared out of her mind. The man in front of her held an uncanny resemblance to Danny, apart from the blood red eyes, fangs, and flaming hair- oh, and the muscles, of course. He was wearing the same DP emblem on his chest, just as they all were. Anyone passing by would probably think that they were an evil, creepy ghost family that happened to look very much alike. Too much alike, she thought, as she reluctantly recalled the fact that they were all genetically the same. She shuddered as the thought crossed her mind that they were all basically messed up versions of the same person.

Phantom looked around at the ruined city and the memorial statues, his gaze passing over three astonished faces, two of which he didn't recognize, until it finally rested on Danny. He gave him his own signature smirk. "…And you still lost."

Danny clenched his teeth together. His mouth was so dry, it was hard to answer.

"I didn't lose!" he managed to croak, putting on a defiant face and puffing out his chest to hide his fear.

"From what I heard inside the _thermos_," he replied slowly, spitting out the word 'thermos.' "You did."

"Who _are_ you?" the future Danni cut in rudely. Phantom snarled defensively.

"You're right. We haven't been introduced…but I would expect someone who looked exactly like me to know who I am," he replied in a menacing tone. The future Danni's eyes widened and she took a few steps back.

"Danny-?" she choked. "No… I killed you! You _can't_ be alive!"

Phantom coughed in surprise.

"You mean…you killed…" he looked at Danny, who had stayed low on the ground so as not to be noticed. "What future _is_ this?"

"Danny…" Danni started in a loud whisper, completely blocking out the fact that both their evil futures were right next to them from her mind. "What's going to happen?"

"What is going on?" Phantom continued like he hadn't heard her, looking from her to Danny. "Did I gain a sister? I'm almost certain she's not Jazz…so how is that even _possible_?"

The future Danni flinched.

"I'm not your _sister_, you- you horrible-!" The future Danni was the most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone. And she was stuttering! But she did have a valid reason…Her _cousin_ had just come back from the dead, after all.

Phantom's attention snapped from the two kids back to the woman and he gave her an unreadable look. Noticing that Phantom was distracted, Danny grabbed Danni's arm and held a finger to his mouth, willing her to stay quiet. He gently pulled her away from the two adult ghosts, hoping they wouldn't be noticed. Which, of course, they were.

Phantom grabbed Danny's free arm before he had even gone five inches, and spun him around, causing him to yelp and Danni to fall.

"Tell me who she is," he said, never taking his eyes off of the future Danni.

"Let go of me!" Danny yelled, trying to wriggle out of his grip. Phantom finally ripped his eyes off of the future Danni to look at his younger self angrily, annoyed by his defiance. Danny opened his mouth to say something else, but this time, it wasn't him who spoke first.

"Listen, you wanna know who I am?" Danni growled, anger finally overpowering her fear. In the back of her mind, she knew something had probably snapped a little. "Fine! Let's just get it out there! I'm your clone. Vlad Plasmius created me, and then he tried to kill me. And I don't know who you are, because Danny definitely doesn't act like you at all!" Future Danni bared her teeth as she said this. She wasn't a clone- she was her own person!

"No! I'm not your clone anymore!" she yelled at Phantom, who was sporting a surprised and slightly amused look on his face. "I was _done_ being your clone ten years ago, Danny. I lost my humanity because of you! And…" she coughed, adopting a softer tone. "Well, I guess I _kind_ of have to thank you for that. It just made me _that_ much stronger."

"Huh," was all Phantom could say. He was very taken aback by their outbursts. He looked back down at Danny, giving him an odd, calculating look. "Looks like we have a very messed up case of Déjà vu." Then his face gained a slightly more evil look.

"But no matter. This makes things much easier," he said as he turned back to face the future Danni. "I'm sure we'll be able to reach some sort of agreement?"

"A-agreement?" she asked, surprised at the peace offering. Phantom inspected his gloves.

"Vlad Plasmius, did you say? That old cheese-head wouldn't happen to still be alive, would he?" Danni growled at the name.

"Why would you want to know anything about Plasmius?" she asked. "He's dead. I killed him ten _years_ ago."

"I've learned from experience that you can never be too sure." With that, Phantom walked slowly to the FentonWorks building, where the time medallions lay. He bent and picked one up, but before he could grab the other, a green blast hit his side and caused him to stumble backwards a few steps. He managed to keep his grip on the time medallion he was holding and looked up to see the future Danni, snarl on her face, hands smoking.

"What are you trying to do?" he asked her angrily.

"Get away from those time medallions. They're mine."

"I don't think so. If this time stream is ruined, I'm to make sure his is too," he said slowly, pointing at Danny. Danny took a few steps backwards and Phantom clenched his teeth together, turning to face him. "I'm going to ruin your life. Just like your _weakness_ ruined _mine_."

Danny was startled. Of course, after all the unexpected situations Phantom was forced to be a part of, he was still obsessed with one thing. Revenge on his humanity.

Phantom walked towards Danny and grabbed the ropes that were still binding his arms, hefting him up so his face was inches away from his own. He brought his hand back to hit him, charging it up with a green ecto-blast.

Danny flinched and closed his eyes, expecting a hard punch to the face.

It never came. He opened his eyes to see the future Danni holding back Phantom's arm, which was still glowing, inches away from his face.

"What are you doing?" Phantom yelled at her.

"You can't kill him! He needs to live in order for this future to happen!"

"I don't see why that's any of my concern."

"Of course you don't! You never did!" she yelled and punched him hard in the face. Danny gasped as Phantom lost his grip on the ecto-ropes and he fell to the ground. He figured that she was either really stupid, really brave, or really strong. He decided he was going to go with a combination of all three.

Several impassive moments passed while no one said anything. The future Danni's face was one of anger, Phantom's one of shock that some one had actually dared to hit him in the face. Then, snapping out of the moment he punched her back twice as hard. She fell to the ground with a snarl and rolled to the right to avoid him as he hit the spot where she had lain only seconds earlier with a volley of ecto-blasts. The tension gone, Danny rolled to his feet and ran at Danni where she was frozen in shock a few feet away from him. He had to get her out of the cross fire and fast, while their futures were distracted. He pulled his arms away from his body with all his might and the ecto-ropes dissolved into nothing as they snapped and fell apart. He ripped Danni's ropes off of her and they, too, fell away.

"Come on! Let's go!" he yelled and Danni snapped out of it and nodded. He bent his knees and kicked off forcefully from the street just as a powerful stray green blast from their future's battle hit the ground he had been standing on and completely destroyed the concrete under him. He flew away as fast as he could from the fight and Danni followed him to the lab under the heap of rubble that used to be FentonWorks.

"The portal's the quickest way to Vlad's," he told her as they phased through the ground to find the portal. He sighed in relief, letting out the breath of air he had been holding as he saw that the Fenton Portal was still up and running. He turned to Danni.

"You ready?" he asked, holding out his hand. She clenched her jaw determinedly and took it, giving him a small smile.

"Now or never."

* * *

aahhh i cant write anything else. whats going to happen? why does she turn evil? how are they going to survive? the world might never know. care to take a guess?

and sorry its late late late late.


	9. Chapter 9

**TUE?**

Chapter Nine

* * *

Danny took her hand and together, they flew into the Ghost Zone. Both of them gasped at the sudden change of scenery. Unlike the Ghost Zone they both knew, this futuristic Ghost Zone was in ruins. Floating doors were no longer floating doors so much as floating pieces of splintery wood. There was no ghost in sight.

"Danny, what happened?" Danni breathed. "Where is everybody?"

"I dunno… but I don't think I want to wait and find out. Let's get to Vlad's," he said, giving her hand a squeeze before letting it go. He flew ahead of her, intent on getting to Vlad's portal as fast as possible. She, however, stayed were she was.

"That's the thing," she told his back. "I don't think I want to see Vlad."

Danny stopped and quickly turned around, flying back to her side. He took a shaky breath and put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her into a sort of sideways hug.

"I know, and I don't expect you to. Not after what happened last week. But this future- our futures, they're so much _worse_ than Vlad. I mean, he wasn't a murderer before last week, right? Uh, at least I don't think so... But you get the point, right?" he waited for her to nod her head before continuing. "I know it sucks, but Vlad is the only one that can help." She bit her bottom lip and started moving.

They flew together in a relatively peaceful silence towards Vlad's portal until suddenly, Danny was hit with a blast that came out of nowhere. He yelped and fell out of the air. A creepy, yet somewhat familiar voice floated from somewhere behind them. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Where do you two think you're going?"

Danni spun around to see none other than the Box Ghost. A very…different version of the Box Ghost. In any case, he didn't look as overly peppy or enthusiastically happy as she remembered him. Floating behind him was an older, angrier version of her friend, Kitty, behind her, a sadly wheel-chaired version of her boyfriend, Johnny, and next to the pair of them, a much more…_rotund_ version of Ember. Walker, Poindexter, and a few other ghosts were floating near them, and all wore pretty much the same angry expression. The whole mob of them radiated hatred and anger, but Danni was somehow able to ignore the feeling.

"Kitty! Ember!" she cried, rushing over to them happily, arms spread for a giant hug. She embraced a very surprised Ember in a great hug and then took a step back to get a good look at the both of them. "Oh, man, I missed you guys! Woah, what happened to you? You look- uhh…"

"Like my career totally went to waste after that Ghostly Wail of yours ruined my vocal chords?" Ember said in a surprisingly hoarse voice.

"Uh…I was gonna go with _statuesque_, but, uh-"

Before she had the time to finish or trail off, Ember strummed a chord on her ecto-guitar and Danni was thrown backwards into another ghost. She looked up.

"Kitty?"

Kitty responded with a growl and brought back her arm and purse. She smacked Danni hard across the face with it and she was thrown back into Johnny, whose Shadow was growling threateningly behind him.

"Johnny!" she gasped. "You guys! What are you doing? I'm your friend!"

"Oh, _please_," Ember snorted. "We stopped being your _friend_ after you tried to waste us ten _years_ ago."

"Waste you?" Danni was confused. "Why would I do that? I _love_ you guys!"

"I don't know," Kitty picked up. "No one knows what made you turn. But what I do know is that you're responsible for the horrible things that happened to both your world _and_ ours."

"To everyone you've ever come in _contact_ with," the Technus portion of SkulkTech added. Danni gasped.

"Guys! We're friends! Well, not all of you," she added, focusing her gaze on SkulkTech and Walker. "But you get my point, right?"she yelled, exasperated. "I swear, I would never-"

"Face it, Danni," Ember interrupted her, grabbing her shoulders and slamming her against an invisible wall. "You've hurt the dipstick's friends, his family, thousands of other innocent humans, and more importantly, _us_!" she said, her voice laced with pure hatred. Danni looked to Danny for help, but he was being held down by Johnny 13, the Box Ghost, and Walker. When it was clear that he wouldn't be able to help her, she became angry. Stupid Danny! The one time she actually needed his help…

"Get away from me!" she shrieked. She was _so_ angry. All this was supposedly her fault and all these stupid ghosts were doing was making it worse! "Get away!"

She had never done anything evil in her life. Just plain jealousy couldn't lead to such a horrible future. It just wasn't even possible. And Danni couldn't recall any time during her short life that she had ever harbored any _really_ bad feelings towards anyone, save Danny and Vlad. And she had gotten over Danny, right? Of course she did- they were cousins. Didn't that make everything better? "Get _away_!"

She put more energy into this last scream than she even knew she had. This time, instead of just being earsplitting, it was accompanied by something she had never felt before. Something inside her seemed to almost click and she suddenly felt charged with a great amount of power. She could do nothing to keep the power inside of her and it was released with her screams. The result: a Ghostly Wail, pretty much the same one her future had used. The supersonic blast pushed all of her friends and enemies away with each pulse, their hands on their ears, cries of pain lost, rendered completely inaudible. Her blue eyes widened in horror. _Oh no!_

She almost choked on her own Ghostly Wail as she realized that the group of ghosts falling into unconsciousness in the wake of her defensive attack included the one boy who had risked his life on more than just one occasion in order to keep her alive and safe. Her cousin. _Danny!_

---

"What are you talking about? I don't even _know_ you! Even though I wish I could, I just can't take the credit for ruining your life," Phantom said calmly to the woman in front of him. She growled and released an ecto-blast, which he only just managed to dodge. He had to admit, either the time he spent in the Fenton Thermos had made him weak, or she was a really powerful ghost. He hesitated. It probably wouldn't be untrue if he said that she was almost as powerful as him.

"You've lost your mind, creep!" she screamed. "How could you not remember me? I killed you!"

It was her turn to either be hit or dodge one of his blasts, but none came as he paused, in thought.

"My past…I must have killed them before Vlad ever got the chance…" Future Danni heard him mumble to himself. Then, louder to her, "How long?"

The future Danni stopped.

"How long what?" she asked, looking at him strangely.

"How long have you been alive?"

"Since ten years ago…" _He must really be insane_, she thought to herself. "April…" she specified when she saw his confused expression.

"After the test then…" he mused to himself, his voice hoarse. "After I killed Vlad."

"Wait a second- you killed Vlad? _I_ killed Vlad! You can't take credit for that, you little goody-two shoes! I wasted him... right before I wasted _you_." Phantom snorted at this.

"Goody two-shoes?" he frowned after a short laugh. "You can't _possibly_ think-"

"I destroyed your life, and what did you do? 'Oh, it's okay Danielle, I'm sure you didn't mean it!" she imitated his 14 year old voice. _Woah,_ Phantom's eyes widened. _Something had snapped_. "I killed your family and friends and ran away to Vlad's. What then? 'Oh, Danni, I still love you, no matter what!' You were too stupid to figure out that it was really _you_ I wanted dead! At least," she added with a horrible laugh. "Until I actually killed you. But here you are, in front of me, and you're somehow very much alive!"

---

Danni immediately cut her Ghostly Wail short and took a breath.

"Danny!" she panted, just as two blue rings formed around her waist. Her cousin was right, it did have a draining effect. She looked around at the debris and unconscious forms of all the ghosts who had all been blown backwards and found Danny in human form, floating in between Kitty and the Box Ghost, eyes closed.

"Danny!" she cried again and flew over to him. "Danny, wake up!"

She hadn't changed completely- her hair had turned black and her eyes, blue, but besides that, she was still mostly ghost- so she used what little energy she had left to change herself back to the original Danni Phantom. She shook Danny's arm and his eyes fluttered open.

"Wha-?" he looked at her, eyes glazed over, squinting as his vision slowly became clear. "Danni-"

"Oh Danny! I'm so sorry!" Danni wailed and Danny brought his hands to his ears as if pained by the loudness of her voice. "I swear, I didn't mean to! Are you hurt? I forgot you were there, and- and-"

"Danni! It's alright!" he smiled and sat up, bringing one hand down but keeping the other on his head. "It's fine, really, I'm okay!"

Danni's guilt didn't loosen up even in the slightest, but she gave a weak laugh and hugged him.

"Wow," he said, hugging her back. "Now I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of a Ghostly Wail. And I'm pretty sure that was _way_ louder than mine."

Danni blushed. "It wasn't that powerful, was it?" Then she snorted. "And it's weird that mine's higher pitched. You have just as girly a voice as I do," she told him jokingly.

"Hey!" he said defensively, playfully shoving her away as he changed back to Danny Phantom. They shared a short laugh and left the scene, getting closer and closer to Vlad's portal.

* * *

cheesy schmeezy ending. thanks for reviewing everyone. glad you all liked the last chapter so much. that was kinda my fav out of all of them so far... but dont worry, its not just gonna be just anticlimatic from there on. at least i hope not...

**Hordak'sPupil-** ahah i was so going to wait for you to come up with a good plan for the story since i still dont have a real one yet and then i was gonna go 'woah thats what i had planned' and then totally take your idea. lol im such a loser.

**tpcrazy**- haha i really dont know... well maybe i do. idk. but its for me to know and you all to find out...later sometime.


	10. Chapter 10

**TUE?**

Chapter Ten

* * *

"Well, _that's_ about as subtle as a flying mallet."

Danny and Danielle had finally reached Vlad's portal, which was covered up by a giant purple football.

"Heh, yeah, I know, right?" Danny said, moving to push it aside. He turned back to Danni. "Ready?"

Danni tensed and clenched her teeth, but she wasn't about to give up now. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Together, they flew through the portal, their boots landing softly on the sickeningly familiar tile floor of Mr. Master's secret lab. Danni gasped as she looked around. The room looked to be completely destroyed. The lab was closed off, leaving the room completely dark, save for a few computer monitors and the ghostly green glow of the Ghost Portal, and the countertops and the experiments on them were ruined, making it seem as if the castle overhead had been completely destroyed. They had barely gone two steps before they heard the one voice Danni had never wanted to ever hear again echo off the walls of the destroyed lab.

"Come to kick the defensless old man when he's down?"

-

Danielle heard her cousin's sharp intake of breath beside her and she snapped her head towards the direction of the voice. That's when she saw _him_.

There, in front of the outdated, broken, barely glowing monitors, uncharacteristically slouching in a dusty leather chair, was Vlad. But it wasn't the Vlad she knew. This Vlad was older, scruffier, and much more…unhygienic than her father. His patched suited had holes everywhere, no longer even reaching his ankles, and he looked like he hadn't shaved, bathed, or really even gone outside for at least the past couple of months. He was silently staring at her with such intensity that Danni thought her heart would stop, his hardened glare wordlessly telling her what a failure and monster she was. "_Vlad…_" she breathed quietly. "What happened to you?"

"I could ask the same of you, my dear girl," he replied slowly, raising a once regal eyebrow. "Or rather, what hasn't happened to you…yet."

The emotionally odd delicacy of the current situation was broken when, for reasons unknown to Danielle, Danny chose that moment to snort at the irony.

"Okay, okay already. Let's just get this over with," he turned from his cousin to Vlad. "Do you have the Ghost Gauntlets?"

If Vlad hadn't been at all surprised before, he was now shocked stupid. A few silent moments passed as Vlad turned his gaze from Danielle to Danny before he finally managed to rasp, "…Daniel, my dear boy, I… You're _alive_."

"Um, yeah. I'm pretty sure I am. Anyways, we don't have much ti-"

"And you _killed_ him!" he cried, turning his accusing glare back to Danni. "You killed Daniel Fenton, just like you did the rest of the Fentons!"

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

**Yay! Update! Before you read, just fyi, i **_**did**_** bump the rating, definitely because of this and the next chapter. **_**Especially**_** next chapter. But really, I avoided anything graphic and left it to all of your imaginations. Get ready for the super long speech by Vlad...**

* * *

**TUE?**

Chapter Eleven

* * *

Danni gasped and wrinkled her nose, scrunching up her petite face.

"Come on, da- I mean, _Vlad_. I would never kill _anyone,_ let alone Danny," she said. That only made Vlad angrier. When she saw that her efforts to comfort the old man were being made in vain, she adopted a more innocent face and looked from her father to her cousin. "You know that, right? You know I would never do anything like that."

Vlad, obviously not convinced by her words, having lived through and witnessed the nightmare she had caused with his own eyes, never let his angry expression falter. Danny, however, relaxed his tense muscles to turn to and comfort Danielle.

"Danni, of _course_ I know that. This future is just a…uh, possibility or something like that," he hesitated, trying to recall and understand everything Clockwork had ever told him. "'Nothing is set in stone.'"

"'Set in stone?' Let me guess…you were sent by Clockwork?"

Danny angrily glanced up from Danielle to answer Vlad's harsh voice.

"Yeah, so what about it? Are you gonna tell us what happened or not?"

"Tell you what happ-..." Vlad stopped himself from echoing his ex-archenemy, confused as to how Daniel had guessed and seemed to almost _expect_ what he had been about to do. He didn't ask. Instead, he gave him an odd look and took a deep breath.

"Well, if it's any consolation, they went quickly," he started sadly and slowly but his voice picked up the sense of urgency the boy seemed to be radiating. "It started when your _'cousin,'_" he paused dramatically and looked severely at Danielle to stress the distaste he felt the word deserved. "Enrolled herself into your school. Around the time of some standardized test, if I recall correctly," he added as an afterthought. "The explosion that took your family was all over the news. At first, everyone blamed the 'ghost-girl,' Danni Phantom with an 'i,' who conveniently made herself publicly known just as the town was most in need of…a scapegoat, if you will. However, no one could find it in them to blame such a pitifully _sweet_ looking girl for the deaths. So instead, they turned on their beloved town hero, blaming him for not keeping his 'sister,' as they called her, in tow. Eventually, information concerning the blame of the accident leaked and it became known that Danielle Phantom had told the press that the blame was entirely on her cousin and that she played no part whatsoever in the deaths." Vlad shuddered as he recalled the headlines of every single newspaper on the street for months after the incident._ 'Amity Park's Town Hero To Blame,' 'Phantom's Sister Describes Town Hero's Thirst For Murder,' 'Fenton Son, Only Remaining Survivor,'_ _'Self Proclaimed Town Hero Kills Amity's Most Famous Ghost Hunters.'_

"The sole survivor of the accident was the Fenton's only son." The old man lowered his gaze from the boy in front of him down to his hands, and continued slowly, his voice gaining a strange hollowness that Danni would never have expected could even _come_ from him. "You came to _me_ in hopes of finding comfort from the only one who could ever possibly understand you. All you wanted was to make the hurt go away, poor boy, but for some reason, you turned on me when I suggested a simple surgery that would have easily removed all those negative emotions…" Danny shifted uncomfortably when Vlad paused, lost in thought. "You fell into a state of depression and refused to talk to me. At least, not until _you_ came." He shifted his accusing glare to Danni, who had been listening to the story with a sense of dreadful anticipation for the ending. "Incidentally, it turns out that Amity Park did have _some_ grounds for blaming you in the beginning for the deaths of Daniel's family. Because you _did_. You killed them. You confessed to your cousin as soon as you were given half a chance. You told him you were 'too scared to take the blame' and so instead you had '_accidentally_' ruined his reputation as the town hero. Of course, because of his disgustingly accepting personality, he immediately forgave you, but nevertheless, you, too, became depressed, as you knew the blame for the deaths of the Fentons and the destruction of his reputation fell squarely on your shoulders. And, out of the kindness of my heart, I took you in and offered you the same operation I offered your cousin, to which you readily agreed. I tore the ghost half out of you and sadly, that led you to tear the ghost half out of me…"

**Madison, Wisconsin, ten years in the past:**

"_I'll do it," she said as confidently as she could. He looked up from his work to see her face, her features twisted in grief._

"…_You're sure?" he asked her after a while. _

_Danielle nodded fervently. "Please," she whined pathetically. "I just want to be a normal person." Vlad bit back the comment he was about to make regarding the fact that she never was and never really could be a normal person considering she was a clone. Instead, he laid a hand on her shoulder as affectionately as he could manage and gently guided her to his lab. _

_Daniel was upstairs in his room, as he had been for several weeks, now. Vlad briefly considered telling him that his cousin had decided to go through with the operation he had offered her, but he eventually dismissed the idea. The boy seemed adamantly against the surgery, irrationally claiming that only evil could come out of it._

_Danielle climbed onto the metal lab table he had strapped her to against her will only weeks ago._ Only a few weeks ago…_ It was surprising how drastically everything had changed since then. Only a few weeks ago, the two half-ghost kids could have been described as infuriatingly upbeat, always blurting out annoying witty quips every chance they got and now… _

_Now, he had two kids on his hands that were practically dead to the world. Daniel hadn't 'gone ghost' since he had tried to save his family from the explosion and Danielle was drowning herself in self-pity, claiming she hated herself for being the cause of Daniel's depression. But, for some reason, Vlad had the creeping suspicion that she had wanted his family dead. A few days before the accident, the Fentons had agreed to adopt her. The day of the explosion was the day of a big exam. She had told him that she had cheated and that was the reason the Fentons and her teacher were at the Nasty Burger in the first place. After the explosion, the press blamed her, but she had managed to turn the blame to her cousin. But Vlad knew that any 'innocent' little girl that could make the media blame her cousin for the death of his own family obviously wasn't as innocent as she made herself out to be._

_Dragging himself from his thoughts, he strapped her to the table and carefully slipped the anesthetic mask over her head. Vlad firmly believed that this surgery would make her better. He knew it had to be her ghost half that was driving the negative thoughts into her head, detracting from her innocence, and this operation would successfully remove it and revert her back to the sweet little mistake of a girl he had made her to be._

_He rummaged around through his drawer and pulled out the stolen Fenton Ghost Gauntlets. Turning to the now sleeping girl, he paused with a frown. He suddenly realized the operation had the potential to lead to excessive blood loss. If he would have been performing the operation on Daniel, he wouldn't have worried in the slightest about such matters, but Danielle was…a _girl_, young and fragile, and a large amount of blood loss could have serious repercussions. He hooked up an IV to her arm, and attached the other end of it to his own. After a few minutes of waiting for blood to flow freely between them, he dug the gauntlets into her stomach, looking away so as not to become nauseous, and tightened his grip on the ghost inside of her. He pulled. _

_-_

_Danielle Phantom angrily came to life with a mind of her own, now an individual being, entirely separated from Danielle Masters. She growled as she looked down at the Ghost Gauntlets sticking out of her and ripped them out of her body, off of Vlad's hands. Before Vlad even had time to understand what was going on, she slid them onto her own hands and turned on him, digging rows of needles into his chest. She ripped him apart forcefully, both halves of him hitting opposite walls, shocked and confused. The IV tube was ripped apart and the ecto-blood that wasn't yet inside her body splattered all over her, making her look more menacing and deadly than she already did._

_Both halves of Vlad gaped in horror as she screamed, his DNA mixing with hers. Her own jealousy twisted her form, turning her skin a pale pastel shade of blue. When she opened her eyes, the familiar neon green had disappeared, leaving behind instead a glowing, ghostly shade of blood red._

_Danni Phantom raised a glowing hand and aimed a surprisingly powerful blast at Plasmius. Plasmius didn't even have time to react before he was again slammed against the wall behind him. He yelped in pain and Danielle grabbed the first thing on the shelf, a stolen copy of the Fenton Ghost Peeler, and turned the knob on the side of it from 'peel' to 'destroy.' Both Plasmius' and Vlad's eyes went wide as she aimed the weapon directly at the middle of Plasmius' chest._

"_Danielle, no!" Plasmius gasped. Danielle smirked at the advantage she _finally_ held over him, after she had been subjugated to subordination her whole life._

_Her smirk widened as she laughed…and she pulled the trigger. _

_The destruction done, she dropped the weapon and turned to face the human side of both herself and Vlad. Vlad was standing in front of her human half defensively, but he barely offered any resistance when she shoved him aside with a flick of her hand. She barely gave him a passing thought as she glared intently at the person no one had ever wanted, the one person she blamed for every single negative thing that had happened over the course of her entire life…_

---

Danielle was petrified by the story, her face a ghostly shade of white.

"What... happened to my human side?" she breathed softly. Vlad's tired gaze returned to her.

"Some things, my dear, are better left unsaid."

* * *

Wow. Long time since last update. obviously, you have to read it kinda closely to understand because the story's sorta complex. Hate the story of Danni Phantom? Love it? So-so? Anything you'd want to add? 

anyway, thanks to those who reviewed. especially to those who gave me advice, which is to say, two of you...

**IJ:** Sorry, i kind of just dont like ember, but i really appreciate the fact that you actually bothered to suggest something.

**Amber- Phantom-** Awwwh, thank you : )

**Next chapter:** one big flashback to the past from future Vlad's memory and the rest of Danielle Phantom's story. Plus what happens to Danny and whats going on with Future Danni and Phantom. yayness. or really, once you read it...boo-hoo-ness. heh, shoulda made more suggestions cause the plot just goes downhill from here...


	12. Chapter 12

ew, i feel sorta gross after writing this._**

* * *

**_

**TUE?**

Chapter Twelve

_**

* * *

**_

_**Flashback From the Future**_

_Alternate Timeline_

_Madison, Wisconsin, ten years in the past:_

Vlad briefly fell into unconsciousness after he was flung under the lab counter and had hit his head against the tile floor. He was brought to when he heard the screaming. The pitiful screams of the innocent human girl penetrated the lab and what sounded like probably the whole of Madison, Wisconsin. It was the most piercing, blood-curdling screaminig he had ever heard and Vlad's fear mounted as he practically felt his heart stop. He clamped his eyes shut so as not to see what he knew was taking place right in front of him, but even so, he felt something warm splatter on his face.

Eventually, the screaming stopped and the room became silent, but Vlad stayed where he was, curled up on the floor, eyes closed, for several more minutes. He slowly brought himself to his feet and surveyed the room. He had never seen anything that had made him feel as sick as he felt now. He knew that the ghost business had the potential to be dangerous and maybe even deadly, but when he signed up all those thirty years ago, he never expected anything like this…the worst possible outcome. The fear in his eyes disappeared as they hardened into their normal grey glare and he clenched his teeth. Quickly and cautiously, he made his way to the stairs. He had to find and warn Daniel.

---

"Danny," Vlad heard her sob with fake tears into Daniel's shoulder from where he stood, watching them from door frame. He was slightly out of breath from climbing the three flights of stairs from the lab to Daniel's room. "I did! Just what everyone says, I killed them and told them it was you! I was too scared to take the blame, Danny, I never m-meant to, I'm so-sorry!"

"Wha-? What do you mean, _killed_ them?" he was surprised, the first expression Vlad had seen from him since the depressed and lost look had completely taken over his face weeks ago. Somehow, after the explosion and her temporary disappearance, Danielle had managed to track her cousin down to his mansion. Which was somewhat surprising, considering Daniel had taken great care to hide from her after she told the press that he had killed his family and friends.

"Danny, I know you didn't kill them. _I_ killed them," she repeated sullenly, tears slowing down. "I cheated on the CATs when Mr. Lancer brought in that Steve 'Third Degree' Burn guy. I didn't want to end up like him, Danny! I wanted to be able to get a job after I graduated and live my _own_ life. I wanted to be a _person_. Mr. Lancer called them to the Nasty Burger and-"

"**Don't** say it." Daniel was closing his eyes and swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat and Vlad's heart went out to the boy.

Daniel had been less than happy about the deaths of his family and friends (and his teacher,) and that was obviously to be expected. But what Vlad hadn't counted on was the way that the boy had reacted. He had stayed in his room most of the time, but whenever he wandered the mansion, he aimlessly sulked around almost _defeatedly_. And Vlad didn't know much about children, but he was pretty sure that young boys were supposed to have stopped having night terrors at _least_ by the time they reached their teens. But Daniel's terrified voice could be heard every night, practically throughout the whole mansion, crying out against some nameless ghost that was always trying to kill his already late family.

"You hate me." Danielle's voice was soft and filled with what Vlad knew was fake fear. He knew he had to warn Daniel about her before anything happened, but he couldn't bring himself to interrupt the moment. His voice stuck in his throat as he leaned against the doorframe, paralyzed and unnoticed. If she saw him, he knew she wouldn't hesitate to kill him. And Daniel wouldn't bother to help, as he believed that Vlad was still whole and could take her full on. "You hated me for hurting your family and now you hate me even more for blaming it on you!"

"Of course I don't hate you," Danny's eyes snapped open and he moved to hug the girl. "Danni, I'm sure it was just an accident. It was no one's fault. And I would have been scared about the press, too."

Danielle suddenly sobered up. The scared, innocence was wiped clean off her face as she stiffly stepped away from her cousin's embrace. "_Why?_" she asked with surprising amount of force.

Danny blinked.

"Why, what?"

"_Why_ don't you hate me?" Vlad saw a flash of what could only be described as insanity flash through the girl's green eyes (Vlad guessed she now had the ability to change their color from red to green at will) and Daniel became disconcerted.

"Why do you _want_ me to hate you?" Like Vlad, he, too, noticed the look on her face and began to back away. Which was all just as well, because Danni's hands suddenly became encased with the formation of a glowing green ecto-blast. She took a step towards him. Vlad would have sworn that the voice that came out of her mouth wasn't her own.

"So that _this_ is justified."

She released the ecto-blast and it hit him square in the chest. Still human, he was flung across the room and landed, gasping for breath by the back wall.

"Danni?" he panted through teeth clenched in pain, his eyes wide.

"Daniel!" Vlad cried as Danielle prepared for another attack. "Watch out!"

"Vlad, stay out of this! What are you even _doing_ here? I thought I took care of you!" the girl cried before turning back in order to Daniel to answer him. "I hate _you_, Danny. Why don't you hate _me_?"

Danny gasped again and rolled out of the way as another ecto-blast hit the carpeted floor next to him, singing the spot where he had just been sitting only moments ago. He quickly became Danny Phantom, matching his black and silver suit with Danielle's.

"Why do you hate me? Danni, what's wrong with you?"

"I've hated you my whole _life_, Danny. My life should have been just as good as yours, but you got the _good_ family. You got the _good_ friends and the _great_ life! What did I get?" she screeched and suddenly twisted around, firing an ecto-blast at a surprised and unprepared Vlad. He was flung out of the room and hit the wall of the hallway with a grunt. "I got a no-good, evil _ghost_ for a father! As soon as I'm done with him, I'm coming for you, too, Vlad!" she shreiked and turned back to again resume her attack on the boy in front of her.

Did she really feel she had it that badly? He knew no one would describe him as a 'loving, caring father,' but he felt that he was at _least_ a sort of father figure to the girl... Vlad looked at her strangely from where he lay, slumped against the wall outside Daniel's room.She reminded him of a young girl, throwing a fit. _But this_, he reminded himself._ Is no ordinary girl, and she's definitely not throwing a normal fit._

His eyes drifted from the girl and her cousin as the boy dodged the powerful and crazy ecto-blasts she shot in every which direction, pleading, begging for her to stop- to the floor of the bedroom, where a gleaming metal caught his eye. The Plasmius Maximus. Danielle must have seen it on the shelf of the lab and taken it with her… And Vlad had a pretty good idea as to how she planned to use it. She clearly wanted her cousin to join his family. It was no small surprise that she still had yet to attempt to take the life of her father. No, wait, she already _had..._ Vlad slowly picked himself up and crawled to the doorway, extending an arm as far as he could in order to stay as far away from the fight as possible and still grab his invention. His fingers brushed the device just as the door glowed a ghostly green and slammed shut on his fingers, effectively blocking his entrance into the room. He quickly pulled his fingers away with a yelp and stood up, now intent on getting into the room. With the sickening feeling of dread, he grabbed the door handle and turned it as hard as he could. Of course, it was locked. He called their names and continued relentlessly twisting and pulling on the handle until he heard their voices.

"…Danni, I don't know what's gotten into you! You have to stop!" Danny pleaded with more vigor in his voice than Vlad had heard him use all month. "Are you being controlled? Is it Vlad? He wouldn't do this…not after-"

Vlad cringed when, instead of Danielle answering in reply, he heard a zapping noise that could only have been the Plasmius Maximus in action. It was accompanied by a long, pained yell from Daniel. A few moments of relative silence passed behind the door Vlad was leaning on, the only noise being the slight steaming sound of burnt ectoplasm-turned-human flesh and Daniel's short, heavy breaths. Then, "…Danni?" Daniel's voice was hoarse and pleading. "Danni-" The last words the boy ever spoke before his voice was cut off forever.

"I promise you that I'll to destroy every_ single_ _**last**_ person you've ever loved," Danielle's voice said darkly, causing Vlad's heart to drop to his feet.

"No..." His voice was a whisper heard by no one but himself and the empty hallway.

What followed was the second worst scream he had ever heard, and it echoed off the walls of his spacious mansion. _**No-!**_

But there wasn't time for him to think anymore. Vlad bolted down the hall to the stairs in fear of what was to come next as the boyish wailing scream of Daniel's agony reached an even higher pitch. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, sprinting down two, three, four, steps at a time. He flew as best he could without his powers into the lab and, with one last fleeting glance around his blood spattered lab, he flung himself into the Ghost Zone in a desperate search for help.

---------------------------

_**Amity Park, ten years in the future:**_

"I don't understand how two people can have the same future."

Phantom and the future Danni had given up physically fighting when it became obvious that they were both equals in strength and technique. They were down to the effectiveness of their own words and they stood with crossed their arms, glaring at each other, both of them panting slightly and covered in various cuts and bruises.

"So, let me get this straight," Phantom ignored her, choosing instead to rehash the situation in his drawling voice. "You're a clone of me that that cheese-headed fool _created_? Why wasn't my life this interesting _before_ everyone decided to up and die?"

Future Danielle stiffened and Phantom mentally took note that the fact that she was a clone seemed to be a sore subject. "I doubt they just _decided_ to die. More like, someone decided _for_ them."

Phantom would have tensed at this, had he cared any longer about his family's death. _Is she implying that _I_ killed them? _

"And you're saying that the same thing happened in this time line that…wait, what year is this?" Future Danielle curtly nodded and mentioned the date. "That's _eleven_ years after they died in my…" Phantom trailed off into his own thoughts, thinking hard about what he could possibly do now that would benefit himself. He decided there was nothing he could gain, save for the satisfaction of killing his archenemy and weakness all over again, now that he lived outside of time. All he had to live for now was destruction, annihilation, chaos…and it didn't even matter what timeline he was in. Hell, if he had the medallions he could destroy all three timelines, his own included. He smirked. _Perfect._

"If I help you, say, make sure this future comes to pass, will you let me destroy myself and my archenemy?" He could always dispense of his _clone_ later.

Future Danielle's brows furrowed. He was going to help her? What could he _possibly_ have to gain besides the credit for killing two mutual, weak enemies from their past? She put herself in his shoes, thinking it through logically. Well, if he really _was_ from outside of time, there would _be_ nothing except the sadistic pleasure in death and destruction. If she was herself, ten years in the past, she would have shrugged. It was more than enough of a reason for her.

"You're driving a very hard bargain... I was _so_ looking forward to killing them both. But as long as they're dead..." she trailed off, hesitating with what she was about to say next.

"As much as I'm supposed to hate you, I have to admit," she added, smiling horribly, fangs glinting. "You're no Danny Fenton."

Phantom smiled at this, his face an exact copy of hers. "Good. That's what I was going for."

* * *

Complete lol moment, that last line. lololololol

And ahaha did you like how when you first started reading it was all of a sudden BAM, blood and guts? I mean, seriously, i could have slowly _eased_ you into brutal murder, but no, it hits you smack in the face as soon as you start reading. Can't get any cooler than that.

_Anyways_, thanks always to reviewers. You guys are awesome. Some of your stuff is really inspiring and it really does help me write faster (hint hint reviewsomemorecough) um haha. But it would be nice if we could get something constructive in the house.

**IJ:** Ummm yeah, cause them joining together would be totally sexually awkward. Hahaha I can just imagine it now. She would be _so_ much more messed up than she already is... And if I had to choose, I'd say Johnny would definitely be the coolest supporting character. Ember can sing, though, that's for sure. Heh, i can see why you like ember. you wrote a whole story about her!

**Next chapter- **Hey, Skulker's in the next chapter, if only for a couple of lines. He's also a dick. Bigus Dickus. Oh well. Back and forth between the present and Vlad's ten year old quest for help. More focus on Danny in the beginning, 'cause I like him. He's stupid though.


	13. Chapter 13

**Before I start, everyone must know how absolutely amazing Cordria is. **

* * *

**TUE?**

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

**Madison, Wiscosin:**

While Danielle gave her full attention to Vlad as he described his history in as much detail as the both of them could possibly bear, Danny was too anxious to stay in one place. He quietly and absentmindedly wandered around the destroyed lab, only half listening to Vlad's story; the other half of his concentration he spent searching the lab for any weapons that happened to be lying around. Danny decided that if he and his cousin were going to hold _any_ advantage at_ all_ over their future selves, they would have to rely on Vlad's (mostly stolen or plagiarized) inventions. Inventions, ghost weapons, maybe even painful memory-inducing objects (which he eventually decided against, figuring that his future self probably wasn't going to go teary-eyed over a stupid object that reminded him of his past. He kind of seemed much more prone to just becoming filled with rage instead.) Unfortunately, however, the number of ghost weapons that were usable and still intact were very few.

He had to admit, Vlad's story did intrigue him. It was a terrible tale and he could only _imagine_ the parts that his 'uncle' was leaving out. Danny looked up from the countertop where he had found an old version of the Plasmius Maximus and slipped the invention into an old backpack that looked eerily similar tothe old one he had given Danielle. The old man caught his eye and for the first time, Danny truly saw this older version of his archenemy for what he was. He looked exactly like the skinny, tired Vlad from the other alternate future. The same haunted eyes that were gazing longingly into nothingness practically told the very story he was telling Danni himself. Danny desperately searched for something, _anything_ that he could use to discern the Vlad in front of him from the one in the other timeline for Danielle's sake. For, if he could prove that they were different, he would also prove that Danielle's future and the future he avoided were not- at least, not _entirely_- the same. His hopes fell, however, when he could find absolutely nothing that separated the two Vlads and the old man in front of him continued his story. As he listened, he learned that, if anything, this future was _worse_ than his, for it started off with not one, but two brutal murders.

He turned, discouraged, yet somehow at the same time inspired by this revelation, back to the counter to continue his search for as many weapons as he could find and continued listening to the rest of Vlad's tale.

---

**Ghost Zone**

_ten years in the past:_

Vlad ran as fast as he could through the Ghost Zone, crying for help from anyone who could hear him. At last, he saw a familiar face.

"Skulker!" he cried. Hearing his name, the ghost turned to see a very human Vlad Masters running towards him from the general direction of the Masters Portal.

"…Plasmius?" Skulker asked, somewhat confused as to what his employer was doing, frantically running around in _human_ form in the middle of the Ghost Zone. The old man in question stopped short before him, hands on knees, panting heavily.

"Please-" he gasped. "You have to help!" Skulker frowned. The man in front of him was visibly sweating and shaking.

"Help _you_? With what?"

"Danielle! She's no longer sane!" Vlad's voice was filled with fear. "Please, there's no time to explain, you have to get as many ghosts as possible through my portal to stop her!"

"Danielle…the ghost-girl? But…why would you need a group of ghosts to stop her? You could easily stop her yourself, the girl is barely a threat."

Vlad had previously intended to keep the fact that he was now one hundred percent human to himself because he wanted to be able to keep the advantage he had established over many of the ghosts- fear. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and Vlad was definitely desperate enough to use the murder of half of himself as proofas towhat Danielle was capable of. _Anything_ to get Skulker to move faster. The girl had to be stopped before she reached Amity Park, where Vlad undoubtedly knew she was going to go next, if not the Ghost Zone itself. He knew she had spent most of her time in the Ghost Zone whenever she wasn't with her…late…cousin, and if she was to get bored or hurt terrorizing Amity Park, the Ghost Zone would be the next thing on her list.

"…Not...anymore," he sighed dejectedly and Skulker frowned. "Look, she's no longer human. I'm no longer ghost. Hell, _Daniel_'s no longer even _alive_." Skulker would have gasped at all the information Vlad was throwing at him had he _really_ believed it. But the fact that he didn't gasp didn't mean he wasn't completely and utterly shocked.

"The ghost boy is-"

"_Yes_, the girl _killed_ him! _That's_ what I'm trying to _tell_ you! She's not just a ghost, she's a full blooded _killer_, definitely _not_ to be taken lightly. She needs to be dealt with before she gets to the humans in Daniel's hometown."

Vlad mentally sighed as he spoke of the boy. That boy, Maddie's son, was…gone. For good. No return. Dead. (Unless he became a ghost, which Vlad highly doubted since there was no sign of him anywhere. The 'ghost-boy' would have been running to save his town and stop his cousin if he were able.) It hurt Vlad deeply. It wasn't even just that he was scared of his own mortality. He was truly and genuinely crushed. He had been fond of the boy, loathe as he was to admit, and now he would **never** see him again. And the way he had gone, too… It was unbearably horrific, thinking back to the screams that had penetrated his mansion only moments ago.

"You're human?" Skulker finally asked. Vlad nodded sullenly.

"Come on, you have to hurry! Gather as many as you can; she needs to be stopped!"

Skulker was quiet for a moment. "If you're human, what reason do I have to stop her? You can't make me, and it's not like the whelp poses any threat to _me_."

"_She killed Daniel,_" Vlad repeated, as if it was all the reason Skulker should need and more. "She's violent and will destroy anything in her path. I have a feeling that she'll be coming to the Ghost Zone very soon. What more of a reason do you _want_?"

Skulker scoffed, obviously neither convinced nor worried in the slightest. He had no reason to be afraid as he didn't believe that _anyone_ could kill that stupid ghost-boy, let alone some little weakling half-ghost girl. Plasmius must have had an accident that removed his ghost half and wanted Skulker to unknowingly help him gain it back. But Skulker was no fool. He wouldn't fall for any of Plasmi- _Vlad's_ clever plots.

Instead, he whipped out a gun and aimed it at the man.

"Skulker doesn't help humans and I won't fall for your tricks!" he said. Vlad noticeably paled and his eyes widened in fear.

"Skulker, don't! You'll regret-" but he never finished his sentence, for Skukler pulled the trigger and released the blast from his ecto-gun. Vlad was thrown back all the way he had run, back through the Masters portal.

At first, when he opened his eyes, he saw nothing. The Ghost Zone wasn't the brightest place in terms of light, but his eyes actually took several whole minutes to adjust to the dark nothingness that was once his lab. When he could finally see, Vlad made for the stairs…only to find that they were closed off by a large amount of rubble. He gasped. Danielle must have _literally_ brought the house down. He guessed that something she had done had caused the house to cave in on itself rather than explode. Thankfully, the lab was sturdy enough to remain standing, though he didn't know how structurally sound it still was. He shuddered, knowing full well whose bodies still remained in his fallen mansion, very close to him.

There would be no response from his land phone, assuming that his castle really had collapsed and he doubted he would get cellular reception under a thick pile of rubble…so what could he do now? Skulker hadn't believed him, and there was no way out to the real world from his lab. He didn't know what to do, so he did what he did best. He sat down in an old leather chair and began to think.

---------------

**Madison, Wisconsin**

_Ten years in the future:_

… _And here I still am_, he thought to himself as he adjusted the settings of an old and slightly rusted Fenton Ghost Gauntlet. He pulled himself from those painful memories and glared coldly at the girl.

"…So you're saying there are medallions lodged within you, keeping you _rooted_ to this time period?" Vlad asked the two teens in front of him, pulling the gauntlets over his hands.

"Yes, yes, and we can't reach it," Daniel rushed impatiently, almost as if he had heard it all before- as if Vlad was his father, telling him to clean his room. "All you have to do is reach into us and rip out our humanity- um, and _yes_, I know it sounds totally gross-" he added,catching sight of Danielle's expression. "And get the time medallion out, too. Then we'll pop back to our present like Tuck and Sam did." With a smirk, Vlad opened his mouth to reply, but Daniel held up a hand and glared at the old man, effectively stopping him.

"And _no_, you _won't_ destroy us both now because yes, I _did_ think of that, and I know for a fact that it won't prevent this future from happening." Vlad shut his mouth with an audible clink of his teeth. Danny expected a '_how?_' or at least confusion from the old man, but instead, Vlad narrowed his eyes and looked him over.

"I_ knew_ there was something funny about you, boy." Now it was Danny's turn to be confused. And, for that matter, Danielle's too, because she hadn't the slightest clue as to what either of them were talking about.

"…What?" Danny coughed.

"You knew exactly what I was going to do and predicted- with impossible accuracy, I might add- _exactly_ what I was going to say. Explain to me **now**, or I won't _just_ use the Gauntlets against the girl," he said slowly, pulling arusted and very old Fenton Bazooka out from behind his chair with his free hand. Danny panicked, pulling Danielle behind him and standing in front of her protectively.

"The_ girl_?" he gasped. "If anything, you should hit me! Danni hasn't done anything! She's totally innocent. I know it! I was _in_ her position only _months_ ago… and you were you, of course, blaming me, as if it was all _my_ fault that that future happ-… oh, uh, heh, never mind, that's totally not the point I was trying to make…I-"

Vlad ended his pathetic rambling withthe raise of an eyebrow.

"I've come to miss you dearly, my boy, and the girl, the _cause_ of all this pain and suffering, needs to be _destroyed_."

Daniel's confused expression hardened when he heard this. He tensed, keeping his defensive position in front of Danielle, and growled.

"I _won't_ let you hurt her. If I have to, I'll take out the medallions myse-"

He was interrupted by the whine of the Fenton Bazooka as it charged up for a blast in Vlad's hands. "You won't take out those medallions. I won't let you. Do you know what I've been through? Do you know how _long_ I've been stuck here? Still thinking, still _hoping_ for a way out of it all. But I realized a long time ago that there's no way out of it, there is no taking back what's already been done."

Danielle swallowed, tears welling in her eyes as she listened to the old man. She found herself doing what she'd never even thought she'd ever do.

"I'm sure there's away out of it," she comforted him with fake confidence, walking around Danny to give Vlad a gentle, consoling hug. "There's got to be."

Vlad looked shocked, and for a moment, almost moved. But to Danny's surprise, he pushed the girl away and she stumbled and lost her balance, hitting the ceramic tile floor with a soft thud.

"Don't think you can comfort _me_, girl," he glared angrily at Danielle who blinked up at him from the floor. "I've been through enough with_out_ two annoying children from the past thinking they can stop what has already come to pass."

Danny, frozen in shock, watched as the older man trained the Fenton Bazooka directly at Danielle. She gasped and raised her hands in an attempt to defend herself from the blast she knew was going to hit her almost point blank. Danny's heart stopped and he realized that maybe it wasn't such a good thing for their futures to be different after all.

* * *

Like the new layout? Think it's snazzzzyyy? 

Thanks reviewers, and Cordria, for helping me. I'm going to be taking a rain check on continuing this story for a short time. 'Cause I'm starting a new one. And I've already got an awesome beta-er for it. But don't worry, I'll definitely be continuing this... sometime. Sorry, I just got so fed up trying to plan out a cooleo plot for this, that I never really did.

**IJ:** No, i haven't read it. Just haven't found the time.

**Miriam1:** You're awesome. Thanks for the constructive crit. I'll def be taking it to heartonce i start this story back up again.


	14. Quick Ending

****

TUE?

Chapter Fourteen

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**Amity Park, Reality:**

"Aahh!" Danny screamed, sitting straight up. Supporting himself with his arms, he stared directly ahead of him with wide eyes as his chest heaved up and down in a rush of adrenaline. He closed his eyes and swallowed, his throat burning from dehydration. Falling back down on the bed, he groaned softly as he wiped away the sweat that was dripping from his brow.

The door opened forcefully. "Danny? Honey, what's wrong?" His protective mother asked, running to the side of his bed.

"Mom," he said, exasperated. "I'm fine."

"What was it? Why were you yelling?"

"I was yelling?"

"Loudly," she nodded in affirmation.

Curious, Danny asked, "What was I saying?"

"Oh, something about Mr. Masters. Don't worry, sweetie, he's not here."

"Hmm," he sighed, trying to created the illusion that he didn't really care, that it was all just a dream and he knew it. "Just a nightmare, mom. Nothing's wrong." Turning over on his side so his back faced her, he pulled the covers close to him. "See you in the morning."

Mrs. Fenton wasn't totally convinced, but she knew better than to press her son. "Alright, sweetie," she said quietly, patting his shoulder.

As soon as she had shut the door behind her, Danny rolled back onto his back.

"Just a dream…," he murmured to himself. _But it felt so _real_._

He opened his eyes, looking around his room. All the tension in his muscles disappeared as he took in the familiarity of the space posters, the pictures of friends, his desk, his covers. He had missed this room and in reality, he had never left it. He looked out the window at the full moon that hung low and bright just outside. He followed the light as it fell across his room to the opposite wall, where his desk sat, like always.

That's when he saw it. His heart stopped and jumped into his throat. He could no longer breathe, for when he saw it, the terror he had been feeling all night reclaimed his body. He lay rigid in his bed, his eyes wider than ever.

On his desk, metal surface softly reflecting the moonlight that engulfed it, was a dented, dirty Fenton Thermos.

**The End**

_Or is it just the beginning?_

* * *

**A/N:** And you thought this story was a lost cause. Well, I just confirmed it. All I can say is, "Hahahaha."


	15. Note:

Author's Notes

* * *

Well, yeah, I copped out. Sorry I couldn't finish it for real, but I don't have the time. I'm honored and pretty flattered to announce that **KHwhitelion** is writing an alternate ending for it, so if you liked this story, I'd be glad to redirect you to **TUE? Rewritten Ending **which you'll probably like better. It's like fanfiction of fanfiction. The link is on my profile.


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